Angels at Ryan's

I will confess that I do not write in a journal. Yet, I have felt a strong desire to write down or blog about something that happened to me on Labor Day, the day I went to D.C. with Uncle Gary. I know, it's been a month. Sue me!

Uncle Gary wanted to take us out to eat after our lovely time at the American History museum. I was pressed for time because I had signed up to feed an elderly couple and their family that night. We probably could have made dinner had the following not transpired:

• my "experienced" navigator (Uncle Gary) got us turned around and we drove around and around and around D.C.
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• I hesitated in a turn lane and ended up pulling out in front of a motorcycle cop and pissed him off (I totally had enough time and space! He was just mad at my audacity!)
• I had to sweet talk said cop, win him over, and enlist his immense knowledge of the area to direct us where we needed to go.

Needless to say by the time I dropped Uncle Gary off, I had to rush home to heat up the casserole I had made the day before. I then took it over to the family's house and was just too spent/exhausted to go home and make my own dinner. The kids were hungry and tired and so was I but I did NOT want McDonald's. It was Monday and I thought I would go to Ryan's so everyone could get their heart's desire and I hoped that the kid's could eat free.:) FHE anyone?

What happened next is still deeply personal and so special to me. I walked into Ryan's with my crew. It was packed. I was going to turn left b/c I can ---eat your heart out Zoolander------but felt I should go right. I found a table and sat my crew down. There was a elderly couple in the table next to me who asked me if they could watch my kids while I went to get their plates. Immediately, my Wonderwoman kicks in and I say I am fine but thank you so much for offering (but I don't know you from Adam and this is D.C. and there are crazies everywhere and these are my babies! etc etc)
Then it dawned on me: How in the h*ll am I going to carry the baby, hold onto my lunatic 2 almost 3 year old, make their plates, and carry them to the table??? No sooner had this terrifying thought entered my mind when a sweet couple came from around the wall where they had been enjoying their dinner and asked me if my husband was deployed and could they help. I told them he was TDY for 6 weeks. They said they could spot a military wife anywhere and wanted to lend a hand since they too had served 23 years in the military. Well, I nearly lost it right there! I mean, really? Angels? in Ryan's?!? 2 sets of angels??? The wife sat with my 2 little ones while I took the 2 oldest to fix their plates and got food for the little ones. She then sat with all of them and fed Elijah while I fixed my own plate! After I returned, she left. While I was gone though the 2 tables beside me had black families that had been watching all this transpire and had gotten to know my kids too. They were making eyes with Eli, talking to Zech and Gabe, and playing games with Ammon. All throughout our dinner, whenever I needed anything, there was another person sent by God ready to serve me and my family.

Why was this so important to me? Because the depression bug had bit my butt big time and I was struggling with my faith worse than I have ever done in my life. I wondered if God cared. I mean, I knew he loved me but did he care what decisions I made as long as they were good ones? Did he care that I was busting my butt trying to hold my little world together?

This day, I received a HUGE answer to those questions. Not only did God care about me. He cared enough to send other people to care about me. Little tidbit: my love language is "acts of service". There was NO clearer way God could have sent his message to me that He loves me and cares for me than through these angels who chose to Serve me and God that night at Ryan's.

So there you have it. For all posterity and my little blog followers who do not read or post comments :) This is my journal entry, my testimony.

D.C. with Uncle Gary

It was Labor Day. Gary was out of town and I had been very depressed but desperately wanted not to be. On a last minute whim, I decided to get out with my beauitful boys and enjoy the nation's capital. I love living so close to D.C. It is such a blessing to live here. (As long as I do not listen to the news!) Anyways, I packed everyone up into my huge truck and I was on my way. Then the thought came to me to call up our Uncle Gary who lives in Alexandria to see what him and his girlfriend Joyce were doing. Maybe the would meet us for lunch. Uncle Gary did even better-he said he'd come with us! So, we headed to D.C. and much to our surprise it was totally dead! There was noone there! We got an awesome parking spot right next to the Mall and didn't pay a dime. Sweet! We decided to go to the American History museum since we had not gone there yet. Originally I wanted to do the spy museum but it isn't free and Daddy wanted to go too. The American History museum was awesome! They had tons of fun stuff for the kids to do. I mean, as soon as we walked into the place, there was C3PO's costume from Star Wars. Uncle Gary loves to shoot pics so here's a bunch from our festivities:


By the time we were done, I had tired out Uncle Gary and the kids. But we had a splendid and wonderful time!

Back to school

Zechariah started 2nd grade this year and Gabriel started Kindergarten. Here are the handsome boys on their first day of school. At Zech's open house, his class was supposed to write a note to their parents. The first line was supposed to state, "Thank you for coming to my open house". Zech refused to write the line and got in trouble with his teacher. When the teacher's aid asked him why he wouldn't write it he said, "Because it's not my open house. If I write it, I have to own it!" His aid tried to control her shock and amusement but let me know that she thought it was very insightful of him. He was right! It wasn't his open house. He wasn't even invited! The next line to us stated, "2nd grade is kind of a bossing zone". Ok, that made me laugh! Zech loves to make other people follow the rules but he wants to decide if, when, and which rules he will follow. Oh well, he's mine and I love him like crazy!
Gabriel LOVES school. He is really coming into his own too. Our little neighbor is in his class and says he is hilarious and talks a lot at school. I am so glad! He is quite shy until he gets comfortable with you. Hearing that he is joking and talking at school makes me happy that he is comfrtable and thriving there! He is gaining self confidence and his own his personality is really coming out.

The day before school started I threw a back to school party. Everyone had a great time!

I made cake and let the kids decorate their own slices. Ammon and Eli truly enjoyed the treat!

See my sign? I totally ripped this idea off of my amazing SIL, Cortnie. I was so proud of myself!

The crew! Unfortunately, Gary was away at Advanced training in Ft Lostinthewoods, MO but Uncle Will graciously stepped in to give the kids their back-to-school blessings. Thanks Will! It is so nice to have family right next door.

My SIL, Sarah is homeschooling her oldest this year and since her youngest 2 are not old enough to go to school, she's got them home too. We have worked out a pretty good system to help each other out with school. I take her little boy, William, to school with Zech and Gabe and pick them all up. If my babies are still asleep in the afternoon, I leave them with her while I go get the kids. Since I have had some significant back problems and am currently in physical therapy, Sarah watches Ammon and Eli 2x a week while I go to my apts. It is a life saver! I would never be able to do this if she weren't here! Thanks Sarah!

Next post: Fall soccer! We love it!

More catch up: Gabriel's 5th birthday

Since we were out in Ohio at Cousin's Camp for Gabriel's birthday, I wanted his birthday to be fun, special for him, and educational too. I called up the local fire department and scheduled a tour for 13 kids under the age of 1o and 4-6 adults. I didn't expect much. After all, this was McConneslville we were talking about. As Zechariah said about how to get to Nanner and Grumpa's, "Just drive forever and ever in the middle of nowhere until you see the yellow house on the hill". He is pretty much right!
Was I ever surprised! The fire department was HUGE!!! And it was GORGEOUS!!! They had every single truck our books ever told us a department may have. What was most amazing about it was that every fireman there was a volunteer. Chivalry is not dead folks! These brave men do it all. They cover over 400 miles including farms, woods, swamps, hills, and a major river. We had a fabulous time touring their facilities, learning what they do, exploring their fire engines, and trying on their gear.

After the tour, we came home for some fire engine cake decorated beautifully thanks to the ever so talented, Emily Griesmyer. The cake was made out of Rice Krispies. We had celebrated David's birthday the day before and Emily had made him a lovely red, white, and blu cake so I wanted something a little different. The kids LOVED it! Yay me! :)

Gabriel is truly "my very special boy". I call him my angel. He makes me smile. He makes me laugh. He is tender hearted and so funny. I look forward to seeing more of his own personality emerge as he comes out from Zechariah's shadow. This past year was good for him since Zech went to school and he went to half day PreK. The played together and are still the best of friends, however, having time away really helped Gabriel to develop his own confidence. He is discovering his own voice and sometimes he uses it, LOUDLY! :) I love him with all of my heart and soul. He is my angel.

Cousin camp 2010

I got the idea from a friend in our ward after a Relief Society lesson she gave.

Cousin Camp. I had seen things in Family Fun magazine about Grandma Camp, sibling camp, and cousin's camp, but it wan't until I talked with Monica that the desire set in. I dubbed myself planner extrordiaire and got the whole Griesmyer family on board. Who could refuse an opportunity for the children to get together, have planned activities, learn from the incredible and diverse talents of their aunts, uncles, and grandparents who they do not see very often, and grow together in love and an understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

My goal was to help, aid, and assist the children develop testimonies of Jesus Christ through family unity and support. And to have fun!

Every morning we gathered as a family for Devotional. Nanner and Grumpa shared a new story and introduced a value or character trait for the day. Scriptures were read and prayer was given and shared. It was a powerful and spiritual time for all. Sure it was frustrating to encourage children to sit down and be quiet but it was worth the effort and struggle. They know now that they have a huge family support system that believes the same things they do and will help them along their path of righteousness.

We had many classes at cousin camp that featured all of our talents and skills. Nanner and Aunt Sarah Linn were in charge of Nature Study. Nanner took the children around her garden introducing new flowers, vegetables, and herbs to them. They ate rhubarb and fried day lilies! How cool is that?!

Aunt Sarah Linn took the children on hikes and taught them about what lived in the beautiful surrounding woods. She invented the "imagination tree" a place where you sit when your behavior is poor to imagine all the fun you could be having! Love it! She madew awesomme googly masks for their exploration and even shared her many bones, fossils, and artifacts with the children. She adores the children and they adore her. Sarah can also make a mean lego creation!

Emilaylay held our crafty corner. She made fun treasure boxes with the kids as well as many other crafts and treasures they got to keep and take pride in. Emily was also the calm force in camp. She is low key and lovely. She loves everyone, kisses booboos, talks out and resolves fights, and shows an amzing level of patience. I want to be more like Emily.

Sarah Beth was our camp cook and had quite a big responsibility! She had to come up with menu plans for the masses, delegate responsibilities so that the job was shared, and also held a daily cooking class for the children. There were many fun kid friendly lunches that they enjoyed making and eating. My favorite were the tuna boats. How fun!

As well as dubbing myself camp director, I taught a musical theater class (of course). We had fun playing drama games and learning a short musical number to "It's Possible" from Seussical the musical. Only draw back: too late in the day and the patio was HOT!!!

Grumpa: Poor Grumpa. He was probably the most stressed out person at camp. He was the handyman. He laid floors in the bunkhouse before we arrived so that the children could stay out there and lessen the stress on the farm house. But the farmhouse only has 2 toilets. 2 toilets and 20 people is not such a good combination. There's a reason why the Duggars have 9! The toilets kept stopping up adn poor Grumpa was beyond frustrated. I truly appreciate him though. He works like a dog and is such a wonderful man. Praise and love is his only payment for all that he does and I hope hope that he knows just how much we do love and appreciate him. Don't worry, he did make time to take us on some awesome tractor rides through the fields and one especially for Nanner up to the top of Helaman Hill! She had never been and was so pleased to make it up there. Thank you Grumpa!

David was our creative genius. While he was supposed to teach firearms safety to the kids, he instead won them over with their very own wooden guns that he specially made for each person. David also designed (with the help of our kiddos) and air brushed our camp t-shirts and somehow found that fairies live in Nanner and Grumpa's forest and even leave imprints of their wings on bark and rocks surrounding the farm house. David is amazing and SO much fun!

A special treat: DeDe, Rob, Tanner, Jordyn, Maddie, and Jackson "Griesmyer" drove all the way from American Fork, UT to spend cousin camp with us. We had never met Rob or their kids and so this was such a special opportunity for us to meet more of our family, play with them, and grow lasting friendships and love with and for each of them. We miss you guys! You can move out here whenever you'd like! :)

On the last day we had a award ceremony where everyone received awards such as "Most Energetic" Hannah, "Future Performer" Gabriel, and "Happy Feet" Jackson. Each child enjoyed their certificate and award. Afterwards, we had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and of course told camp stories and sang camp songs!

I cannot wait for the next cousin camp and many cousin camps to follow!

May Madness

Gabriel and me after his PreK presentation
Gabriel and his wonderful PreK teachers. I could not have been happier with their work with the kids this year. These ladies are amazing!

Gabriel on stage (kinda) Still I could not believe he actually said his line and did the motions. Yay Gabe!

the end of May was CRAZY!

I took off to Georgia for a week because my mother had to have back surgery. I got home late Saturday night 2 days before Memorial Day. Before my mother's unfortunate rupture of her disk, I had asked (begged, pleaded) Scott to come down from Syracuse and help me and Gary finish some home projects that were about to drive me crazy. I came home to newly laid floor and lots of dust from spackling and sanding walls. Needless to say, my house was a hot mess! Thank you Scott for helping me stay sane, Gary for putting up with me nagging, and Cortnie who really was the one who made Scott come bail me out/help me. :)

My brother and sister in law showed up a few minutes after I got home with a van load of their things to put in our garage while they figured out where they were going and what they were going to do since they sold their house in Catonsville, MD. The next day, they moved in with their 4 children and all the things they would need to live out of suitcases for 2 months or so. Since my mom's surgery was kinda sudden I did not have anytime to prepare the house the way I'd wanted to for them before they arrived. Needless to say, I spent the next 3 days rearranging furniture and clothes to make room for their family. Oh plus cleaning from the home improvements projects!

My boys moved into Eli's nursery, Gary and I were in our room, Will and Sarah got the older boys'room with the full bed, and their 4 kids got Ammon's room that had 2 twin beds in it. It was tight but manageable. Their kids were pulled out of school early while mine were still in school and Zechariah thought that wasn't fair at all! :) But we were busy with soccer, end of the year festivities, Elijah's 1st birthday!, Zech had a piano recital, Gabe had a PreK presentation, etc, etc. We were BUSY!!! Thank goodness for 2 moms! Sarah was a huge help! It was nice having another set of eyes and ears in the house especially since the # of children doubled!

Soccer fun

Soccer was very time consuming and such a blast. Zechariah and Gabriel really enjoyed themselves. So did Elijah and Ammon! Their favorite thing to do was kick the ball. It was so cute
to watch Eli chase and kick the ball like his big brothers.