I'm back!

Sooo . . . hi!

Yep, it's been a while.

And now you are in for like, the longest post EVER.

It's been a wild summer y'all. So many things to update on! My goal is to get all caught up here in the next week or two.

The biggest "adventure" started last spring when I started having trouble with my ears. Yes, my ears. No, I'm not 80 even though I sound like it. My inner ears malfunctioned. At first it was a minor annoyance, but it became a serious issue when the dizziness kicked in mid-May. And didn't go away. And it's finally just in the past couple of weeks I've started to feel better. So, this summer will go down as the one in which I struggled to balance my condition with the needs of my VERY ACTIVE family. It was rough, but I learned a lot.

I learned that each day of "normalcy" - no matter how boring it may seem - is truly a gift from God.

I learned in a first-hand way that we are sooo not in control. And have no say in whether or not we will have another year, another month, another day, or another 5 minutes of good health.

I learned to pray even more than I did. And more. And some more again. And to keep at it and not give up.

I learned to fully rely on God - on a daily and sometimes hourly basis - for strength, for peace of mind, and for the ability to keep moving. It is only by His hand that I was able to keep up with my kids this summer.

I learned to find the good amidst the bad. To focus on what I could do instead of what I couldn't.

I learned I'm stronger than I thought I was.

I learned to have a greater amount of patience and empathy towards those who are struggling with health issues.

I learned how incredibly patient my precious husband is, and what wonderful friends I have.

Even though this wasn't a life-threatening thing, I have learned that life should be LIVED. Right now.

I've learned to have patience with timelines that are not my own. I would have liked to have been done with this in, say, 2 days. But, like I said, it's not up to me.

I'm still not 100%, but at least I'm moving in the right direction, and I'll take that. I've been told that inner-ear issues can take months to resolve. I'm just grateful that I've seen an improvement!

So, enough on me. Let's get to my favorite blog topic - Jack and Noah. We're going to head WAAYYY back to May when we were finishing out the school year. The kids' favorite year-end event is the track meet. I wasn't so great about pictures this year, but these first two are Noah:

And Jack . . .

This year they tried the running long jump:

Then we had volcano-eruption day - the kids built homemade volcanoes (even made the molding dough from scratch) and then put some combination of liquids in them to make them erupt. (Noah is in the red shirt)

(Jack is in the white striped shirt)

And this spring we started traveling for soccer. Our first trip was to a huge tournament in Denver over Memorial Day weekend. The boys' team made it into the championship game - and lost 2-1 - but we were all so excited that they took 2nd place! It was a HUGE accomplishment with all the teams that were there. (Jack and Noah are in the black)

That brought us right up to birthday weekend. Because they were turning 10, we tried to make it a little more special. We started out Friday night with turning the office into a huge fort. Which they thought they were going to sleep in. But that only lasted until about 11 p.m. :)

Saturday morning we took them to the air show at the Air Force base with one of their best buddies, Christi (her husband is the B1 pilot who was deployed at the time).

Saturday evening we had a big party for them at a bowling alley - we invited families who have played a big part in their first 10 years - it was a wonderful time and really reaffirmed for us how blessed our kids are to have such fantastic people in their lives!

One of the things I've been praying for is that Jack and Noah would have really good buddies in their lives, and so far, they do. They have friends who are really good kids, and I'm so thankful for that.

Sunday was their actual birthday, and we let them dictate the day. We started out with church, then went to Taco John's for lunch (Noah's pick), then headed to Flags and Wheels - an indoor go-kart place.

I stood on the side with my camera - didn't want to drive with my dizziness - and came to some conclusions about my kids driving. Noah is very calm and focused and careful:

Jack, on the other hand is a maniac. I wish you could see his face better in these pics. Oh my word.He won't be getting his driver's license while he lives in our house. Meanwhile, Mark was a good sport in his pink car.

Next up: Pirates Cove mini-golf.

Then we had Armadillo's (ice cream place) for supper (Jack's pick). And headed home to open some presents.

I won't bore you with a bunch of gift pictures, but this one was a special one - "real" basketballs (aka expensive) from Dad.

Okay, so I'll be back! Very soon! Lots of summer still to cover . . . yikes . . . .

Today I Will Make a Difference . . .

This is by Max Lucado - arrived in my inbox at a much-needed moment last week - and had to share it:

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimisim will be my companion and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the 24 hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While itis here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble . . . . I will get up. It's OK to fail . . . I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

AMEN.

And then they turned 10 . . .

A little behind here at Four Happy Campers due to a health issue that will hopefully be resolved soon . . . but in the meantime, I've fallen waayyy behind. My sweet boys hit double-digits a week ago and this mama is struggling! Even with tears a few times. I was commenting to an older, wiser friend that it's interesting how this growing-up stuff is so hard on me, but doesn't seem to be as difficult for other mothers, and she pointed out it's probably a little more difficult on me because Jack and Noah are it. I don't have other little ones to follow. So each time we reach a milestone, it's the only time I'll celebrate those milestones. And maybe on the flipside, it also makes me a little more thankful for my babies . . . .
So, as is tradition on this blog, here we go:
To Noah, my big strong guy -
You are getting more "guy-ish" every day - there is not much about you that is "little kid" anymore. You are even developing that "pre-teen" attitude, which is normal, but hard on your mom! That look on your face in the photo? I get that alot! You may be an even better "arguer" than me, which spells trouble for the years ahead, I think. :) The good side of that is you come up with many thoughts and theories that often take your parents by surprise. God has blessed you with an incredible - and very quick - mind. You have many, many opinions about everything and you are the ultimate planner. You want to know what, where, when, and how at least 15 times a day. Meanwhile, I'm trying to be more spontaneous, so that doesn't mix so well with your constant planning, but we're working on it. :)

You had a big growth spurt this year - 108 pounds now, and feet almost as big as mine! Eating has become your favorite pasttime - you are always wondering what our next meal will be and WHEN. You are obsessed with NACHOS - I have no idea where this came from, but you are always scoping out concession stands and requesting Mexican restaurants. Other favorites are cheeseburgers, pizza, the DQ, and Life Savers Winto-Greens.

You are still taking piano, and you play it so beautifully. You dislike lessons, but don't seem to mind the practice, and often just sit down to play for fun. I love, love, love listening to you and hope you stick with it. You played flag football this year - most often playing receiver for Jack, along with basketball and soccer. Your biggest news this year was your school-switch in the middle of the year. After witnessing Jack's experience at Calvary, you decided you wanted to be there too, and it's been a good change for you. You pulled straight A's the entire year!

Here are my favorites about you - your HUGS - they just melt my heart, and make my worries fade away. And your beautiful face when you smile - those freckles and huge brown eyes with the loonnngg eyelashes - oh my. I also love your pursuit of Jesus and God's Word - you love reading the book of Revelation, your bible study, and you excelled in Awana this year, taking home the Honor Award, an award in which the leaders vote for the child they feel went above and beyond. We are so proud of you and love you more than words can express.

To Jack, my silly peanut -
You've had a year of all sorts of changes, and you have weathered them all beautifully. You started out with getting braces just before school started - on top of the two hyrexes you already had in there - I've never seen so much metal in one mouth. But you adapted and didn't complain. Then you started a brand-new school - making new friends and getting the new routine down within 2 weeks. You never showed any sign of nerves or stress - we were just totally inspired by you and how brave you were. Then, further into the year, you got glasses. This change was met with a little more resistance, but once you realized how much better you could SEE, you were fine. And you are so stinking cute with them!

You are quite the jokester, even though in your picture up there you look all serious. You really aren't . . . unless you are playing a sport. Then we could cut your intensity with a knife. But you are always wanting to play a trick on us or are giggling about something. And then on the other hand, you took part in three very serious dramatic presentations at school with your class, which were just AMAZING. You are definitely a man of many hats.

This year, you grew straight up. You are the consumate bean pole, and all legs. You enjoy your food too, just not with the same gusto as Noah. Actually, your favorite thing to munch on is crushed ice. You are ALWAYS walking around with a glass of crushed ice. Maybe if we all followed your snacking example, we'd be bean poles too! Your other favorites are pizza, crab legs, pizza rolls, macaroni and Armadillos ice cream.

My favorites about you are your determination - NOTHING gets in your way when you want something - nothing. Your smile, which lights up my world. The way you still call me "mommy" (even in front of your friends) and don't have a clue you probably should have graduated to "mom" by now. They way you still love to cuddle - snuggling up next to me while we watch The Brady Bunch and how you want me to lie with you and scratch your back while you fall asleep. I hang onto these moments for dear life because I know they'll be gone very soon. We are so proud of YOU too, of who you are becoming, and we love love love you.

A LONG overdue post!

Wow, so I guess my summer resolution has to be to KEEP UP with this blog! My goodness, I can't believe it's been a month since I was on here. I'm determined to get back on track with this, though, because the boys LOVE going back and reading over the past few years. It's good motivation to press on.

We've just been busy with normal, daily life around here, thankfully. We had a nice Easter, a peaceful Mother's Day weekend at home, closed out the Awana year, I finished BSF and a major project at church, soccer season is in FULL swing, and we're wrapping up the school year with all the craziness that May brings.

A few weeks ago, the kids had a major project at school - biographies of a historical figure (chosen from a list of teacher-selected options). They had to write a report, find pictures/artifacts relating to their person, and then dress up like them for their "Living Museum" presentation. Each of the kids had their own "booth" and the rest of the school, families, and friends could come through and tour the museum.

Jack was Harry Houdini. He spent the afternoon doing magic tricks for the visitors. His booth was a huge hit.
Noah was Daniel Boone. Grandpa Horak and Uncle Josh outfitted his booth with animals skins, a trap and antlers - and a wild fur hat that only lasted 2 minutes for pictures. :)

One of their buddies as Charles Lindbergh:

Thomas Edison:Neil Armstrong:

Jackie Robinson:

The whole class:
They were all so cute and worked so hard, it was really fun to see.

Jack doing magic tricks:

Noah discussing Daniel Boone:

Next up was an all-day field trip to Wind Cave National Park. It was quite the day . . .

The first 2 1/2 hours of the trip were spent hiking around the prairie. In 40 mph winds. And about 48 degrees. Wind Cave Nat'l Park earned it's name that day.

Then after lunch we got to the fun part. If you aren't claustrophobic. 21 stories underground.

We went down, and down . . . .

and down some more . . .

It was an amazing cave - 160+ miles underground, if you can get your head around that. We only saw a small portion, obviously, and now the kids want to go back this summer.

Tomorrow is the last day of anything resembling school work - they are dissecting owl pellets and erupting their homemade volcanoes. Tuesday morning is consumed with the school talent show (both Jack and Noah will be playing piano) and Tuesday afternoon we all go ice skating. Wednesday morning they have chapel and awards and then are all done!!!

Another little thing to note - neat story about Jack - this morning in church I had to do a little "appreciation" announcement and gift presentation for our Awana commander - - and that kind of thing absolutely ties me up in knots. The mere thought of getting up in front of 500 people and talking about does me in. Well, Jack decided he wanted to be a part of it. Meaning come up front with me and do part of the talk . . . can you imagine?? So, I wrote him into it, and he did the "opening" and the "closing" of the presentation - - like a professional. Oh my word, I cannot describe how proud I was of him. It was amazing. It's times like that I sit and watch God in action and ache with curiosity about what He's got planned for my kids . . . .