The Moberg Family

Author: Susanne

  • Case #9: The Case of the Purloined Birthday Present

    It was just an ordinary Thursday. (It also happened to be Brian’s birthday, which, if you know him, means it was–quite literally–just an ordinary Thursday.) We were planning on celebrating Selah’s birthday that evening with a friend when–*gasp*shudder*scream*–the birthday present we had gotten for her was GONE!!! In its place was a ransom note with a clue.

    We immediately contacted Nancy Drew, whose novels Selah devours at alarming speeds, to ask for her help. Unfortunately, she was detained in Europe and could not come to our aid. She felt terrible, but after hearing that Selah had read almost all of her books, she was certain Selah could solve the mystery with the help of her two fellow sleuths. Nancy studied the ransom note, which we had faxed over to her, and mailed a letter to Selah (it arrived that same day, all the way from Europe, if you can believe it!!) giving her detailed instructions for how to proceed.

    Elliott, Selah and Aspen piled into the car after school and I burst into uncontrollable tears, telling them what had happened. “Your present was…STOLEN!!” I blubbered. “Our house has been turned into a crime scene!!!” I handed Selah the certified, Top Secret, Confidential letter from Nancy that had just arrived because I was too upset to say any more. She opened it, and with wide eyes (and lots of giggles, I might add, though I didn’t think that was an appropriate time for laughter) read through the instructions and the attached ransom letter. Perhaps one of the most important instructions was that they were not to enter a room unless the clues led them there or else bombs would detonate that would destroy crucial evidence or, worse, the purloined birthday present. (“Or worse,” Elliott added, “our house!!”) Thankfully, the thief had, indeed, left behind a number of clues and Nancy prepared to set Selah, Elliott and Aspen on several missions to track them all down.

    Thankfully, Nancy also sent along some Pop Secret snacks for these hungry sleuths!

    The ransom note read:

    Your birthday present is gone!

    What should you do?

    You’ll find that I took it

    And hid it from you.

    It’s hard to believe

    but a mystery is due.

    The best way to find it

    is to get all the clues!

    Your first clue…

    What has a face and two hands but no arms?

    They solved the riddle on the drive home and once we got to the crime scene they immediately found the first envelope tucked behind the family room clock and they set off to accomplish their first mission, which was to crack the code to figure out their aliases.

    Working as a team, they DID figure out the code and discovered their code names: Singing Puppy, Speedy Glowfish and Sneaky Turtle. Aspen was SHOCKED when she discovered her alias, saying over and over (and over and over), “But I HAVE a glowfish!! How did she know??!!” There was one more code tucked in the envelope and after they had solved their names, they solved the extra code which said, “Minn of the Mississippi.” Singing Puppy immediately figured out to check inside that book and found the first letter (L) with a riddle written on the back of it, which said: I never ask questions but I am always answered.

    It took them a little while to figure this one out, but they finally did and found the envelope attached to our doorbell.

    Once they reached the vault AND made it back up through the lasers again to the landing level, they opened up their needed supplies.

    Each sleuth received a magnifying glass, glow sticks, spy glasses that let you see behind you, spy pens and a notebook. They would need each one of those things to solve the mystery. At the bottom of the vault was a bag containing the second letter (O) with a riddle on the back: Some people take me in the morning, others take me in the evening, but one thing you should know—that when I’m taken’, I don’t really go anywhere.

    It did take them a little while to figure out it was a bath, but since we only have one bathtub in our home, they knew where to go immediately. And they were very careful to not open any other doors…

    They opened the envelope and read the mission and as soon as they entered the bathroom, the door was shut behind them! Somehow, the light switches didn’t work (I’ll have to look into that…) and since there are no windows in their bathroom, they were forced to use their glowsticks. So this was DEFINITELY the hardest of all the missions but with a little help from yours truly (good thing Nancy and I speak the same language) the sleuths cracked the code. The clue was written with a scytale—so there was a long strip of paper with letters on it and they had to match the arrow on the piece of paper to the arrow on the paper towel roll and then wrap the paper around it to read the word. They knew the piece of paper with the letters was important but they couldn’t match it with the paper towel roll. So once we solved it together, it led them to our home library where they found the 4th mission on the side of a bookshelf. The 4th letter (S) was scattered among the items in the bathtub so they also had collected that.

    The envelope was filled with small squares of paper with lots of very random things typed out on them in size 2pt font. They read through each and every one with their magnifying glasses until they could figure out which one was the clue. One of them said, “Happy Birthday to You!” by Dr. Seuss and that just happens to be one of the books on our bookshelf. Inside the book was another letter (A) with a clue written on the back: I am alive without breath and cold as death. I am never thirsty but always drinking. What am I?

    They ran up to Sneaky Turtle’s room and found the 5th mission attached to his fish tank. Unfortunately, they also found something very fishy indeed… a dead fish. That terrible thief! Must have scared the fish to death! But, undeterred and undaunted, the sleuths carried on and read the mission at hand. How Nancy knew that a birthday version of Headbandz was Selah’s one request for her birthday, we’ll never know. It was a personalized birthday/detective version and, let me tell you, it was just the perfect game for Singing Puppy and her fellow sleuths. They worked together and laughed hard and the very last clue to guess was a teal balloon. There were balloons scattered all over the living room but only one teal one, which contained the next letter (M) with a clue on the back: I begin with T, I end with T, and I am mostly full of T. What am I?

    Inside the bag was a bowl of cooked noodles. Once they had all reached inside they guessed, “noodles,” and Singing Puppy knew to go to our pantry and look inside the noodle bin. There, she found the next letter (H) with a clue on the back: When I was invented you could look through walls. What am I?

    Speedy Glowfish immediately thought of looking out the window…

    They came inside to accomplish this mission…

    Working together, they got 10 shots and then Singing Puppy ran to the target, intuitively knowing to check behind it. She found the letter (E) with the clue: What has to be broken before you can use it?

    Inside the mission envelope were lots and lots of oddly shaped pieces of paper with pictures and words and sentences written on them…in invisible ink. They had to use their spy pens to read them and then decide which one was the clue. One of them said, “Your favorite breakfast to eat with whipped cream and strawberries.” Singing Puppy ran to the pantry containing the waffle mix, where they found a letter (S) with the clue: “I don’t speak, can’t hear or say anything, but I will always tell the truth. What am I?” They finally figured it out…

    Once they found the paper plates in the cabinet, they had to unscramble them to figure out what was for dinner. I loved the moment Singing Puppy realized the plates spelled out “Pizza.”  

    The exhausted sleuths ate and were merry…and then Singing Puppy found a clue underneath her slice of pizza! (Can you see it in that lower left picture?) It was a letter (O), wrapped in aluminum foil, with this clue written on the back: “I sometimes have leaves, but I’m not a tree. I’m sometimes bedside, and sometimes coffee.”

    Brian and I figured it out right away but, come to find out, none of these three children knew that a table has “leaves.” However, as Speedy Glowfish leaned back in her chair, scratching her chin to try to solve the riddle, she happened to glance down and see that the last mission had fallen to the floor from where it had previously been taped to the underside of the table. And so it was very easy for them to find it on the floor at their feet, ha!

    Inside the envelope were tons of pieces of paper filled with quotes from Nancy Drew and/or other detectives in very small font, backwards. So they had to hold the papers up to the mirror to read them. Somehow, and we will never know how, the very last paper that held the clue had dropped to the floor without them noticing. (See it on the floor in the bottom left photo?) That paper read, “The last letter is found where the clothes go round.” And there, in the washing machine, was tucked the final letter (R).

    Here are the letters they received. Can you solve the case??

    LOSAMHESOR

    Okay so the unscrambling of the letters was a WEEEE bit difficult for these sleuths. Thankfully, I was able to help them crack the case with a few hints (I’m guessing it’s two words…let’s think about who this day is about…) they finally got “Selah” and were left with OMORS. And finally they put it all together to get…SELAHS ROOM.

    The purloined birthday present was a DESK!!!

    The thief had–very conveniently, I might add–dropped the stolen loot in HER BEDROOM!! WHEW!! I breathed a sigh of relief for the first time that day.

    Singing Puppy, Speedy Glowfish and Sneaky Turtle all celebrated.
    They each gave Selah wonderfully-thoughtful gifts and we enjoyed some mud pied cupcakes together. (And yes, I fussed and at the very least gave Brian a candle in his since it was, indeed, HIS birthday!)
    Her Aunt Angela and Uncle Tony sent her a compass and #11-20 of the Nancy Drew series. These are just some of the faces that accompanied the opening of these amazing presents. It’s like she struck gold. (Which, really, she did!)

    Selah also got to celebrate her big day with Brian’s parents and some of the Mauss family. Thankfully there were no more crimes that needed to be solved during those festivities!! If only Nancy could have joined us for some mud pie…maybe next time!

    Well happy birthday to our darling Singing Puppy Selah. The mission to turn 9 years old was, indeed, ACCOMPLISHED!

  • A Chop Off the Old Block

    A Chop Off the Old Block

    Sometimes, due to life and health (or lack of), over 2 and a half years pass by and you haven’t been able to get your hair cut. And then at one point you think to yourself, “Hmm, I wonder if my hair is long enough to donate…” and you think about how wonderful it would be if God could make beauty from the ashes of your way-too-long-in-desperate-need-of-a-cut hair. And then you look at your lovely daughter, who also has not had a hair cut in ages, and you wonder, “Hmm, I think HER hair might be long enough to donate, too…” Then you wonder if you are ready to give your baby girl a bob cut and you ask your husband and he is not so sure about that either.

    But, you and your little girl, whom some call a “chip off your old block,” find a place that provides free wigs to children who suffer from permanent hair loss. You watch a video together about a little girl who has lived the first many years of her life with no hair. You talk about the challenges she must face and how beautiful she is because she is made in God’s image. Your little girl, who was hesitant to cut her hair into a bob at first, decides that this very small sacrifice she has the power to make could bring a lot of joy to a little girl just like her who has this need.

    As you are contemplating all of these things, you find out one of your favorite people on the planet has just been diagnosed with a very serious and rare breast cancer. You cry your eyes out and pray fervently and then when you finally get to see her through the waterfall in your eyes, you ask her with a lump in your throat, “Do you want my hair?” She already has a wig purchased so she doesn’t need yours, but now you are truly determined to give your hair away.

    So you grab your daughter’s hand and you march to the salon together. The stylist cuts 17 inches off the longest point of your hair and an average of 13 inches from your little girl’s hair. And you each smile big after taking these huge chops off your old blocks…and you realize your daughter is still a chip off of yours.

    Your heart swells as you read the letter your daughter includes with her donation:

    Dear Friend, I hope that you are able to trust God in this hard situation. I encourage you to read the bible and pray without ceasing. Have courage and don’t give up, even if people make fun of how you look. You can depend on God through any hard trial and remember that He is always with you. Love, Selah Bethany Moberg P.S. I really hope you like your wig.

    And now, all you can do is hope and pray that some little girl (or two) feels the love of the Lord through your small sacrifices. You continue to hope and pray for your dear friend who is fighting cancer hard. May He make beauty out of all of our ashes.

    *********

  • 2021 School Year Off to the Races

    2021 School Year Off to the Races

    The first day new grade bacon tradition continues. Say that 10 times fast.
    Some things never change….

  • Summer 2021

    FAMILY

    Can you spy the new member of the Moberg family?

    FRIENDS

    SURPRISES

    Letters from authors the kids had written, a shimmery purple-blue butterfly, two hot air balloon landings on our property one morning and a creature that we still can’t identify!

    PROJECTS

    Brian and Elliott rebuilt the crumbling concrete wall surrounding the drain to our lake. Selah even jumped in (quite literally) to help from time to time.

    COOKING

    Selah cooked many different meals this summer, but by far her favorite thing to do was make her own creations. She particularly enjoyed making dessert creations for us…imagine that :).

    MOWING and BUILDING

    Ummm, yes, that IS Elliott driving our 100 horse power tractor ALL.BY.HIMSELF. Thus begins the time when my 10 year old can do things I’ve never done. He also built a floor in our attic, so add that to the list!

    DEATH

    With GREAT HOPE for spending eternity with our friend…

    LIFE

    In case you couldn’t spot him in the Moberg family photo, meet the kids’ new cousin: baby Beckett!

    ADVENTURE

    DAHLIAS

    • All thanks to Uncle Joe!!!

    GRATITUDE

    And although I have no picture for this…I must document that this summer Elliott beat me AND Brian at ping-pong!! WHAT?!! He has come A LONG WAY since we got our table at Christmas. Way to go, Buddy!!

    So very thankful for the Summer of 2021!

  • Love at First Cross-Stitch

    Though we know it was in the year 2000, neither Brian nor I remember the first time we met. I so wish I could remember…and often wonder if we will get to replay that meet cute in Heaven one day. But although I don’t remember meeting him, I have always remembered him as being my friend. And eventually he became my good friend. And I DO remember the moment those strange feelings started bubbling up inside of me when I was around him, and the time he finally asked me on a date, and the time he slipped a ring on my finger and asked me to be his wife. I became Mrs. Brian Moberg 12 years ago this month and, my goodness, now I can’t remember a time that I didn’t love him. Honestly, I think I have always loved him.

    We have been sorting through lots of boxes this month and I came across my keepsakes box. I don’t know when it was opened last, but it was at least 3 houses ago. And I came across my cross-stitch birth stats and immediately texted Brian’s parents…because…LOOK.

     

    It was love at first cross-stitch. {squeal}

    Did you catch this poem that I wrote about how “God knew“? Yes, indeed, He knew. Now, I believe Raggedy Ann and Andy were actually SIBLINGS but still…their love ran deep :). What a sweet little wink from the Lord.

  • 2021 Last Day of School

    2021 Last Day of School

    Oh, happy summer!!!

    There is such a great feeling that comes from working really, really hard and then taking a BREAK! We all worked really hard this past year and it has been such a delight to RELAX the past couple of weeks. I love our summer-time learning…very different than during the school year. So far Elliott is learning how to break down and rebuild a cement wall on our property with Brian and Selah is taking cooking lessons from yours truly. I love these days of less structure and less pressure.

    But we had a fantastic school year once again. Although there was LOTS of hard work, we did have a lot of fun as well. We continue to be so grateful for our little classical Christian community and I LOVED having the kids home 4 days instead of 3. We refined a lot of the structure of our homeschool days and I think we’re finally finding our groove.

    This year we studied the founding of America; astronomy, geology and meteorology; ocean animals, mammals and insects; Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Van Eyck; and Christina Rosetti, Emily Dickenson and Robert Frost. They read well over 400 books relating to learn about all of those subjects! WOW!! Like last year, we didn’t even count the books they read “for fun,” only the ones school-related. In a nut shell: the kids memorized three different chapters of Psalms, tons of scripture besides that, 9 different poems, all the states and capitals, 22 short songs that tell the story of early American history, many of the presidents, the preamble to the Constitution and lots of different catechisms.  They learned how to draw the entire United States and label each state with its abbreviation. They started learning Latin and have done a fantastic job of picking it up. They both crafted items to sell at our school’s Winter Market. They learned lines for and performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They each did fun science projects and presented to their classes. Elliott did a presentation as Captain John Smith and Selah as Betsy Ross. They are making great progress with piano and choir. And this is all in addition to our Language Arts and math studies! They continue to excel in their narrations, copywork, and artwork. They are becoming truly amazing artists and becoming excellent with watercolors. We had the joy of having 3 friends join us for nature study each week, which added tons of fun to our learning. We also raised butterflies again! Whew! Can you see how hard we all worked and how much fun we had!?!? What a JOY it is to teach these kiddos of mine!! I already can’t wait for September :).

    We read SO much fantastic literature, it’s hard to select highlights, but some of our favorites were The Sign of the Beaver, Pilgrim’s Progress, and Wind in the Willows.

    Elliott grew a ton this year, and not just physically! He is growing in his faith and self-control and trust and obedience. His biggest struggle in school has always been his battle against perfectionism, and boy did he take some ground this year! I took some time to write out achievements for each kid, and here are Elliott’s.

    Spiritual: By God’s grace, Elliott was eager to be baptized this year and we’ve seen a growth in his self-control and trust to obey us and the Lord.

    Academic: Elliott didn’t miss a SINGLE multiplication or division problem on his daily times tests all year! He made big strides to complete his work in a timely manner without being ruled by perfectionism.

    Life Skills: He has been a huge help to his daddy working on various projects around the property–he is really growing into a strong, capable man!

     

    And Selah’s achievements:

    Spiritual: By God’s grace, Selah chose to be baptized this year and we’ve seen growth in her heart to obey the Lord in all things and a quickness to repentance.

    Academic: She mastered all of her multiplication and division facts this year, including double and triple digit multiplication and long division! She also made a lot of progress with her spelling.

    Life Skills: She is a huge help to me around the kitchen and is really picking up her cooking skills. Also, she has completely mastered the art of doing EVERYTHING (and I’m not kidding when I say “everything”) with only one hand, since there is ALWAYS a book in the other.

    Both the kids are avid readers, but Selah has really taken it to an all-new level. I mean, in the past I’ve found her up in trees and riding a tricycle around the driveway while reading. But, no kidding the other day Elliott came in and said, “Mom, Selah is riding her bike while reading a book–in the road.” So yeah, we still have some safety training to do. Granted, we live on a VERY quiet street with almost no traffic, but still. Once this year I caught her doing a math lesson with a book in her other hand. She unloads the dishwasher, walks around the house and outside, jumps on the trampoline, plays and, of course, eats all while reading. I can’t tell you how many times a day I say, “PUT THE BOOK DOWN!!” I suppose it’s not a bad problem to have…unless she’s riding her bike in the road, of course. Sigh. Working on it.

    How she grew into a size 5 shoe this year, I’m still trying to figure out…my baby sure is growing up!!

    And my favorite part…the compare and contrast:

     

    I am so incredibly blessed to be able to homeschool these two kiddos. Thank you, Lord, for another wonderful, rich year of growth in all of our lives!! May our learning always glorify You!!

  • Elliott and the double digits!

    Elliott and the double digits!

    Our mighty man turned TEN!

    Wow, we have seen the fruit of the Lord working mightily in our son the past few months. What a joy it is to watch him GROW UP, not just as a boy filled with zeal and joy and wisdom and wonder, but as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We have seen a lot of maturity in him these past few months leading up to the big double digits!!

    On his big day, he woke up to a blue balloon with the words, “Happy 10th Birthday, Elliott!” written on it. Inside was the following note:

    Dear Elliott, Happy 10th birthday!! We love you because God made you and you’re YOU. You will never earn more of our love by anything you do. We love you because you are YOU, period! But we wanted to share some of our favorite things about you and some of the many reasons we absolutely delight in you and are so thankful that God placed YOU in our family!! Love, Mommy, Daddy and Selah

    We then instructed him that he must find 10 other balloons in the house. We had all written out some of the things we love about Elliott and each hidden balloon contained one of those things.

    Elliott Brian Moberg, how do we love thee in all of thy joy, and wonder, and zeal for life?? Let us count the ways…

    1. You always love me so well! You play fun games with me and if you ever wake up before me you will wake me up and snuggle me! -Selah
    2. You are so generous with your Legos! -Selah
    3. You are playful! You wrestle and race with me! -Selah
    4. I love this about you: when you love something or someone, you love them with all of your heart! And when you love something, you love to share facts about it with everyone who listen! I have learned a lot of facts from you! -Mommy
    5. I love that you love to snuggle and can’t get enough mama kisses or “I love you’s”! -Mommy
    6. We are constantly amazed at how detail-oriented you are. One way this plays out is when you do a job, assignment, or chore, we can always count on you to do it excellently. For instance, I’m not sure if you’ve ever missed a day of flossing and if you’ve ever not brushed your teeth for exactly 2 minutes (timed, 30 seconds per section, of course!) Your school work is always frame-worthy because you do all of these things with your whole heart. -Mommy
    7. You are such a good and loyal friend. You are inclusive, welcoming and kind. You are sensitive to others’ needs. -Mommy
    8. I love how good you are at driving huge tractors all by yourself! I am grateful I can trust you with such grown-up things because you are trustworthy. -Daddy
    9. I love that you’re always bursting with energy to share your thoughts and ideas with people! You love telling stories and inviting everyone into your experiences with you. -Daddy
    10. I like that you love going on long trips with me because I love going on long trips with you! -Daddy
    We had waffles, whipped cream and strawberries for breakfast, per Elliott’s request! Good morning, birthday man!!
    Grandma and Grandpa Moberg were here visiting and Grampa and Nonna Mauss came over for lunch. Hooray for grandparents! Elliott opened some presents and we feasted and enjoyed mud pie! I’m not sure either of our kids are capable of doing anything half-hearted. This series of pictures just cracks me up. I love Selah’s expression in the second photo. Literally awe-struck at his gift! He had just opened a 2011 proof set of coins from his daddy and me. As the awe wears off and pure excitement builds in picture 3, he goes flying up and down, as you can see in picture 4. Picture 5 is Selah–in the air–because she literally cannot contain her excitement as Elliott opens the gift from her. Hmmm, I wonder which parent they got their expression from? 😉 I sure do love these two joy-filled kiddos!!
     Our kids are so blessed to have both sets of grandparents in their lives. I thank God often for that. I didn’t grow up knowing my grandparents and it’s hard to imagine Elliott and Selah not knowing each of our parents. So thankful for the blessing of their lives!
    And, you guys. Look at these two. Are you kidding me? They are such a gift to us. Growing in their love for each other with each passing year.
    Just like last year, Elliott pleaded with us to time our daily bible reading so that Brian would be reading to us at exactly 6:25 pm, since that is the moment he was born. (5:25 pm Pacific Time) Again, these pictures crack me up. They were taken at precisely 6:25. Brian just kept on reading, undeterred :). But no lack of enthusiasm on either of their parts!
    Also, I wanted to mention that Selah, in true Selah fashion, decided to buy a balloon animals instruction guide and learn how to make balloon animals so she could give everyone party favors–2 days before his birthday! And learn, she did! She made Elliott a turtle! It was her very first balloon animal! And then a personalized balloon animal for each grandparent and Brian and me. Grandma got a pink bear, Grandpa a white bunny, Grampa an airplane and Nonna a flower! Brian and I got some very special creations, which we decided to call Cacti :).
    We decided to take Elliott on a special 10th birthday trip. Brian took him skiing and they had a wonderful couple of days away together. He hadn’t been skiing since last year but he picked it up quite quickly again! The trip was wonderful, other than a horrible, no good, very bad sunburn. (Grrrr….)
    Now, as for celebrating with friends… Last year, all Elliott wanted to do was have friends over to play ultimate tag on our property. The Lord had different plans, but this year his dream came true. In fact, I suggested making the focus an epic game of Capture the Flag and that is what we did. Elliott really, really wanted to have his cousin Micah there for his party so we held off about a month until Micah and his family were in town visiting. We started out with Ultimate Tag in the back yard as families and kids trickled in, and then Brian led the kids out to the property to commence Capture the Flag. Can you see them out on our property in the bottom two pictures? Huddled up on the left and spread out all over on the right?
    You’ve probably heard me say it before but in Colorado it is risky to have a Spring birthday party. For Selah’s fall birthday, we usually end up having to come inside because it’s too hot, but for Elliott’s spring birthday, we usually end up having to come in due to blizzard conditions. I think I got tricked because we had had such gorgeous sunny, beautiful weather. I love you, Colorado, really, but could you follow the seasonal rules, please?? So, staying true to her nature, Colorado decided to snow that lovely spring morning of Elliott’s party. Thankfully, the snow melted before everyone arrived, but it was VERY cold. But the kids were troopers and were running around the whole time anyway so they didn’t ice over completely. We started a fire during lunch so they could thaw out a bit. And then, just to confuse everybody, we served ice cream for dessert :).
     
    And not only did he get Micah there, but ALL of his Moberg cousins!
     And now, let’s do a little flash back, shall we? This popped up on my phone, reminding me this was 10 years ago. I haven’t been able to stop laughing since. What was going on here??? Did I write a blog post about this?? I’m taking caption submissions….
    Far be it from me to not pull together a few other wonderful baby pictures from 10 years ago…
    Really though, have you ever met a child more captivating with his joy? How is it possible that his joy has grown in the last 10 years when we started with such a high bar?!!!!
    Now, come on…their heads are LITERALLY tilted at the EXACT same angle, TEN YEARS LATER. Who does that? How did he know??
    Elliott Brian, what JOY to watch you GROW UP these past 10 years! A decade!!! We are SO GRATEFUL to be your parents!! We thank God that he chose YOU to be our son. May the Lord continue to grow you into a man of honor, valor, strength and wisdom, who loves the Lord with all of his heart, mind, soul and strength. Happy birthday, mighty man!!

  • Selah’s Golden 8th Birthday

    Our sweet little girl turned 8 on the 8th…her golden birthday!! I’m so thankful that we could slow down and take the time to celebrate our girl. She is a constant source of laughter and joy in our home and I am so thankful for her!! She is still the little girl who doesn’t need another person to hold a conversation (she is perfectly content talking to herself), interrupts herself while she’s talking almost EVERY.SINGLE.TIME and cracks herself up more than anyone I know. The other day I asked her a simple question about what she and the other girls did at school and after 15 minutes of trying to answer this simple question but interrupting herself with rabbit trails and other stories I finally burst out with laughter, “Selah! Just finish your sentence!!” She paused and said, “Well it’s more like a paragraph than a sentence.” Oh my word…yes, yes, it is. More like a novel, really.

    She requested just having one friend come over for her birthday, her dear friend Aspen. And it’s a good thing that’s what she wanted because…Covid. She sees Aspen 3 times a week but it is never enough for these two girls. They are CONSTANTLY asking for sleepovers and extra play time. What a perfect day to make that happen!

    So when I asked Selah what she would like to DO for her birthday, the ideas ranged from ice skating, to “I want it to snow and build a snow fort and have a snow ball fight,” to make and shoot bow and arrows, to whittling wood. But the two things that she kept coming back to were a wood whittling party and a bow and arrow party. Because, Selah. That’s my dear, special girl!!

    She and Aspen have been making their own bow and arrows for weeks and it’s been really fun to watch their creativity and skill. So why not have an archery contest?! But then, of course, I started thinking about her golden birthday and how to incorporate that and it came to me: Selah’s Golden Olympic Birthday Games: Go for the gold! How fun, right?! I also just couldn’t resist doing something extra special for her golden birthday, so this year she woke up to a surprise on October 1st with a note explaining that she would have a surprise every day for the 8 days leading up to her birthday. That was fun :).

    Day 1: She woke up to new bedding on her bottom bunk! (The kids had shared a room and the bunk beds up until last Spring. But ever since Elliott moved out the extra bunk has just remained empty.)

    Day 2: Her cousin Taylor! She knew her grandparents were arriving on the 2nd, but she DIDN’T know that they were bringing Taylor! I told her she would find her surprise in the back seat of their car…as she opened the back door and began searching, Taylor popped out of hiding from beneath a pile of coats! It was awesome.

    Day 3: Brown paint! Selah and I finally got around to painting her room a few weeks ago and as we talked about what she wanted on her walls, she said she really wanted a family tree painted on her wall, with photos of her family (and friends) on each of the branches like leaves. Well, okay then! It was super special for her to have Taylor here to help draw and paint the tree (which we barely got finished before Taylor had to leave)!

    Day 4: A rug for her room! Many weeks ago she mentioned casually, “I would love to have a round, teal rug for my room.” Amazon made it happen :). That day, I told her she’d have to find her surprise and her reaction when she found it was priceless! She carried the rug around with her everywhere she went for the next several days, haha. She wrapped herself up in it like a blanket and dragged it through the house and slept underneath it. I think she likes it :).

    Day 5: Have you read “The Courage of Sarah Noble”? It’s a very short chapter book about an 8 year old little girl who learns to keep up her courage. The character reminds me of Selah in so many ways so we got her this book, encouraging her to keep up her courage in the Lord.

    Day 6: I had asked her several weeks ago if she’d like an “8” shirt sort of like the “7” shirt we got her last year. After looking through several puppy shirts (still in love with puppies) she came across this brown tulle skirt with puppy ears and a tail. And she was IN LOVE. She wanted a plain brown shirt to go with the skirt. Alrighty then, Selah B!!! So her favorite stuffed teddy bear was missing this particular morning but Selah found a note from her, explaining that she was playing hide and seek (which happens to be Selah’s favorite game). When Selah found Beary, she was dressed in Selah’s new puppy outfit. 😉

    Day 7: We decided to get her a “real” bow and arrow. We knew she would love it but we also figured it might be good to have a real one for the kids to use for the archery contest. See anything interesting about this picture below???

    Also, what should I do with this picture? Blow it up and frame it? I can’t get enough of it. I have entitled it, “Target Practice.”

    Day 8: For her golden 8th birthday, her final present from us was a (rose) golden locket with a picture of the three of us in it.

    Her actual birthday was a co-op day so we had a semi-special but quick breakfast, she opened her locket and then she was off to school. I sent her with some chocolate golden coins to pass out to her friends at school. While she was gone I decorated the dining room. Aspen came home with her from school, we had a special birthday dinner (ravioli, garlic bread and asparagus–her choices), and mud pie for dessert.

     

    The next day, the Golden Birthday Games began! My parents were able to join us (what a praise and gift!!!!!) and the kids began their competitions…an archery contest, a hula hooping contest, a limbo contest and an obstacle course. (Unfortunately Taylor had online school she had to do during the party. So she was out there with us while Zooming into her classes for the morning…) It was a gorgeous but way-too-hot fall day. The kids tallied up their points at the end and received chocolate gold coins as their “medals”.

     

    And how perfect that her Olympic rings formed the perfect number… (wink, wink)

    Now, I was trying to figure out how to incorporate her wood whittling request into the party…because whittling wood is about as exciting as watching paint dry on a wall (in my opinion). I just couldn’t figure out how to do a meaningful project that could be started and finished within a short time frame. So…I came up with…wood burning!! Perhaps slightly selfishly motivated (I’ve really wanted to learn how to wood burn but couldn’t justify buying one for myself, ahem), we purchased a wood burner and I tried it for the very first time at her party! Wouldn’t recommend that :). I thought it would be so simple…have the kids draw with pencil on a piece of wood and then trace over it with the wood burner, right?! Well, not quite that simple. I helped Aspen make her way through the project but then spent the next few days playing around with tips until I figured out a much easier way to wood burn. So it went a lot quicker with Elliott, Selah and Taylor. Anyway, it was fun. My vision was to have the kids wood burn a design and then color it in with colored pencils. None of them chose to color them except for Selah, and I think the simple wood burned look looks really neat. I do love how the colored pencils look with the burned wood outline though! Taylor did both the front and the back of hers so she can change which verse she has up in her room at any given time. Here is a little bit of the process along with their final projects:

     

     

    What a blessed little girl she is…she is so loved!!

    And here she is with her puppy ears. You can’t see the tail, but I assure you, it is there. 🙂 Happy golden birthday, dearest Selah!

  • 2020 First Day of School

    2020 First Day of School

    2020, a year that won’t be forgotten any time soon. And, like the Energizer Bunny, it just keeps going and going and going and…..

    And so, it has gone on into another school year here with us. To tell you the truth, this is actually the best school year we have had yet. For that, I am exceedingly thankful and grateful to our gracious God!! I haven’t found myself saying that about very many things this year!!

    This is our second year with our classical Christian community and so we are settling into a great routine. We also pulled back and have 4 home days this year instead of just 3 which has been GLOR-I-OUS. We finally have some breathing room and I’m very thankful for that. Our learning already has been so rich and fun and we are having a blast. We are very thankful that our very small one-day-a-week school has some liberty in making Covid decisions. Most of their day is usually held outside and they are obviously taking extra hand-washing precautions and things of the sort.

    First order of business on the first day of school was their grade level bacon breakfast. Because, bacon. Apparently this is becoming a tradition.

    I finally got smart and had the kids fill out all their own stats along with their self-portrait on the SAME PAGE…took me 5 years but I finally thought of it!!

     

    And, the goofy pic. This picture on the right just cracks me up. Selah wanted to pretend like the stick was a piece of chalk and then she wanted to point to the chalkboard like a teacher would. Elliott, however, looks terrified. Perhaps he thought it was more like a hostage situation?!!???

     

    Well happy 2020 school year to all and to all a good year!!

  • New Mercies Monday: My Mama

    New Mercies Monday: My Mama

    “I don’t think you realize how close you were [to dying]…” my mom’s physician said to her, several times, in the past few weeks. And every time she relayed his words to me this past week, I remembered the not-so-distant memory of the heaviness that weighed on me so many times in the previous weeks because I could feel how close she was.

    It started with excruciating back pain and ended up with two [major] emergency surgeries, multiple [serious] infections and [over] three weeks in the hospital.

    But do you know what it DIDN’T end with?

    Death.

    It didn’t end with death, even though it could have. It didn’t end with death, even though it was close. It ended with LIFE. God was so, so merciful to us.

    I remember getting the news that she was in the hospital (while we were out of the state, nonetheless) and praying that God would take away her pain. But soon after we discovered that the pain was caused by a very serious Staph infection that had severely damaged two of her discs. And then? Then I began to praise God for the pain. Before, I had been asking him to take it away, to relieve her, to calm her body, when that pain was the very thing that saved her life. Oh, how this has had me pondering. How quick I am to pray for others’ pain to be relieved. How quick I am to pray that my pain should be lifted, when perhaps God is using that pain as the very tool to save my life. Maybe not always in a literal sense, but in a spiritual sense…to draw me closer to Him…to teach me His ways…to show me how to depend on Him and Him alone…to save me from the ways I have put my hope in false things without even realizing it. I am too quick to want to remove pain and not quick enough to surrender to God’s hand that sometimes brings pain to save us.

    The last 3+ weeks have been so hard. It was an incredibly (awful) roller coaster of one day receiving good news and the next day receiving the news of a terrible twist in the recovery. One day, while she was in the middle of her second emergency surgery, I just shut my door (“kids, I’ve got to go pray and cry my heart out to God”) and I let the wails go. In reality, I think this second emergency surgery does not typically end in death, but death just felt so near. I don’t even know how else to describe it, but I was gripped with fear of losing my mom. Oh boy, did I cry. Begging God to have mercy on my mom and tears flooding my open bible, He led me to a verse (an entire chapter, really) that has carried me through some of my darkest days over the years.

    “His tender mercies are over all of His works.” Psalm 145:9

    Now, in that moment, I wanted to be led to a verse that promised me he wouldn’t take my mom’s life (I know, never gonna find that in the bible) and I began to protest: “MERCIFUL? TENDERLY merciful??” I wanted to scream. I imagined doctors and nurses frantically prepping my mom for surgery and rushing her into the operating room. “Tender” is not exactly the word I would use to describe what was happening to her. But I couldn’t even get my protest into audible words because God’s peace was so immediately with me (He is near to those who call upon Him! v.18) and I remembered. I remembered that His word is true and He IS merciful, all the time, despite what circumstances look like. He IS merciful in the midst of pain. In fact, the pain IS often THE MERCY. It had been the pain that mercifully saved my mom’s life just days before and although I couldn’t understand how this second surgery could be merciful, I had to have faith that it was. Even if it ended in death. And so I thanked God for being merciful to my mama, even though I couldn’t understand. I prayed that His mercies wouldn’t cease and that He would protect her, take care of her, and spare her life. And you know what? He did all of those things. And it turns out the pain that the led them to discover the perforated intestine which led them to this second emergency surgery was, indeed, His great mercies again. Although we will never know for sure, it seems like the issue was a pre-existing condition that no one knew about. That, in and of itself, also could have killed her if it had gone undetected for much longer.

    His tender mercies are over all of His works. 

    This past week I have been able to talk to my mom several times (!!!) and each time, she testified over and over and over to how God has ordained every single minute of her time in the hospital. How He has provided and taken care of her and seen to every detail of her needs. I am in awe of how the doctors caught various issues–multiple times–that all could have led to death if untreated. So thankful for the amazing physicians that cared for her. So thankful for the spit-fire nurse who washed her hair (Ahhhh the mercy of clean hair!). For every doctor and nurse who so tenderly cared for my mama in the midst of her great suffering and need. So thankful for the dearest friends, family, and church family who covered us all in prayer and love the past few weeks. So thankful for my mom’s sisters, my dear aunts, who responded to emails and updates with contagious hope and joy, who texted me to check in on me in my lowest hour, who loved us all so tenderly. So thankful for the ways that the Lord sustained and protected my dad, who spent hours upon hours tirelessly caring for my mom, loving her well, and commuting back and forth from the Springs to Denver to be with her. How could I miss the shower of tender mercies raining down upon my family? 

    And so, she LIVES. (Hallelujah!) Just a few days ago my mom said “goodbye” to the hospital staff and “hello” to a rehab facility. Although we don’t know how long she will be there, I am learning to rest in the peace of Christ and trust that God’s plans for my mom are far more merciful than my best thoughts and ideas. I am trusting that He will be with her as she re-learns how to walk and do life with a slightly different body. Trusting that although there probably will still be a long, difficult road ahead, that His tender mercies cover that road in the peace of Christ. And, that the Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth. He is so tenderly near.

    Thank you, Father, for sparing my mom’s life. 

    Mom, I don’t know when we’ll accidentally dress as twins (unless I can find me a butterfly back brace!), be able to take a four-wheeler ride or bake pies together again…but none of those things matter…I am just so thankful to still have you.