Hobbit Hollow Happenings

Last evening, I watched a mama deer and her two little fawns (they still had their spots) playing in the garden and meadow in front of our house. It was so cute - the fawns were furiously running laps around the garden, chasing each other and jumping over plants and fences, and mama just stood in the middle of the garden and watched them calmly. They played for probably a half hour - it was great fun to watch! I thought about trying to get a picture, but they were in the shadows, and I was having too much fun just watching them.

Here's the first fruits of our garden!! I had given up on getting much of anything, and so am very thankful for what remains. The squash are doing very well - does anyone know what kind of squash this is? The tomatoes are looking pretty fine also - probably by the time I get back from camp I will have enough to make salsa and to share!



This is one of the Resurrection Lilies that is suddenly blooming in our yard - anyone familiar with these plants knows how they just shoot up out of nowhere and bloom before your very eyes! My Grandma Irma had these - they so remind me of her - she called them Naked Ladies, which simultaneously offended and delighted my children when they were small.



I'm headed back to camp tomorrow for another week. Christa is going along, and so far we have 19 kids. I am praying for 9 more - the most we could take with the staff we have is 28, so I want 28!! Today is the last day for them to register so there will have to be a rush. Next week is supposed to be very hot again - as we come to your mind, please pray for endurance and strength for the staff and campers.

B.J. at play

This was taken on the 4th of July - B.J. worked at the Kid's Zone at a crusade in San Diego planned by his church. Over 1,100 people made commitments that day - he said it was the most powerful thing he had ever witnessed. What a mighty God we serve!

An Outing, by Christa Kuchta

I FORCED Christa to write this story up - when she told me I cracked up laughing. So here you go.

So we were on our way to the park, and Lexi walked about half the way, and then we put her in the stroller so the walk would go faster. A few blocks later, we notice Lexi hitting Mason upside the head, which isn't really a surprise, until we realize she had a huge rock in her hand! The funny thing is that Mason didn't even get upset until Lexi got into trouble, probably because he was trying to milk it for all it's worth. We got to the park, J carrying Mason and Lexi still in the stroller, and to punish Lexi for beating Mason, I made her stay in the stroller while J and Mason played for a few minutes. Lexi and I are sitting there talking about why she's in time out, and I notice Mason getting ready to go town a tube slide on his stomach - cute huh? Yeah, until he gets to the bottom and there is a giant WHOOSH of water, and out comes Mason - soaking wet and grinning like a fool! I guess there was a large puddle at the end of the slide ...
We played for a while, the kids had a blast, and we decided it was time for Mason to quit eating rocks and Lexi to stop climbing up the monkey bars (she wanted to walk on top of them), and said it was time to go. Lexi proceeded to wrap her arms and legs around a pole and start screaming. We finally got her in the stroller, went to put Mason in there, and he flipped out. Probably because he thought Lexi was going to hit him again! Mason screamed for a while, which got Lexi going, only she was yelling at the top of her lungs that she didn't want to go home, she wanted to go to Brenda's house! We made it home and I calmed her down by telling her that Brenda was at the store with Eric and Kevin, and who should drive by as we get into the driveway? Kirk of course ... which started Lexi up again! Needless to say, we made quick work out of diapers and baths, and the kids were in bed and asleep within a very few minutes!

True Grit

Lexi made a birthday cake in the sandbox today ... and then tried a bite. Three times. I literally had to make her stick her tongue out so I could spray out her mouth, and even then she kept "chewing" and I could hear the sand crunching between her teeth. It was pretty funny - she kept trying to spit it out, but with little success ... you gotta wonder why she went back for seconds, and then THIRDS!

Theatrics in the Park

Last night we went to Theatre in the Park, along with easily half of Johnson County. The weather was beautiful, and it seemed like the perfect night to go. I cooked a bunch of food, and we took a picnic, blanket and lawn chairs, and headed out to Shawnee Mission Park to see "Grease."

After standing in line for a half hour to get tickets, we found a spot and settled in. So far so good, right? The food was yummy, the evening was gorgeous and we were enjoying each other's company. Shortly before the show started, we noticed an approximately 11-year-old boy next to Greg, wearing a coonskin cap and showing off like only 11-yo boys can do. :) We were highly amused, and called B.J. to tell him it felt like he was with us.

As the light faded, the two-year-old boy next to me (I mean RIGHT next to me) started using his dad's head for a ring-toss target, over and over and over. Sorta cute, a little annoying, but oh well. Then coonskin cap boy started telling "You might be a redneck if ..." jokes, only he got them all wrong. It was hilarious, and also a little annoying because he was VERY loud. He would bar-har with laughter after each joke - at least someone was laughing.

Then we started getting repeated whiffs of something horrible, like a dishrag that's soaked in sour milk for a week or so. We finally pinpointed it to the teenage boy sitting behind Greg, who was wrapped in a nasty, smelly afghan, and every time he moved the smell wafted our way. Seriously, it was 80 degrees - why he was wrapped in that thing is beyond me. Then he started hacking and coughing all over the back of Greg's head.

Finally, the show starts, and everyone settles down. We're about 15 minutes into it, and someone snaps on what we think is a flashlight directly behind us. It's shining right onto our blanket and stuff, and suddenly shadows are jumping all over the place at an alarming rate. We finally turn around, and there is a woman with a headlamp on her head shining into her lap (and our stuff), and she is knitting at the speed of light by the light of her headlight! (That's a lot of light.) It was so distracting, like a kid's hand puppet show on the wall, only all around us. Greg asked her to turn it off, and she ignored him and kept knitting at a blinding speed.

By this point we had had enough, and we left at intermission. We started laughing when we hit the parking lot, and laughed all the way home. Can I plan a date or what.

Seen at camp ...

Some random things I found amusing enough to take pictures of:

This poor, pitiful bell - we ring it to signal the kids when it's time to switch stations ... hope it lasts until I go back! (Donations are welcome.)


This poor pitiful (ugly?) couch that lives in the hearth room where we have all our meetings - one of the Big Brothers plopped down just a little too enthusiastically, and the result is obvious! (Once again, donations are welcome. :)


This nice new van that Cindy and family just got ... why are the doors open, you ask? Because I drove it over to Big Camp one night, and left the windows open when I got back, and it rained, and ... well, you get the picture.


And last but not least ... drum roll please ... the sign on the side of the port-a-potty by the pool. Who thinks of these things?!

Why?

The day has come. The long-anticipated, much-dreaded milestone for all toddlers ... Lexi has discovered the word "Why??" Every request is met with this question ... and the answer is almost always the same: "Because I said so!" The joy, the joy, of grandparenting!

On another note, and as a perfect follow up to my last post, Lexi definitely pooped in the bathtub here on Tuesday. :( Ick, yuck, bummer. Potty training is in her near future!!

One more camp post coming your way - probably tomorrow. It'll be worth checking back for, I promise!

What I learned at camp

This is all still "soaking in," but it was SUCH an interesting week at camp last week! I was not anywhere near 100% physically, and neither was Cindy, the director. As a result, we weren't nearly as prepared ahead of time as we usually were, and we opted out of lots of "extra" things that we normally might have done with/for the kids.

The amazing thing was, we both had the easiest camp week we've ever had, despite lack of preparation. We must have turned to each other 5 times a day and said, "Aren't we supposed to be doing something right now?" But we weren't - and for the first time we actually had a reasonable amount of time off, and slept all night most nights. These are both unheard of for me at camp!! The coolest thing was that the kids still had a GREAT time, they didn't miss anything, and things went more smoothly with less running around like fools than ever before.

So ... the lesson for me (and Cindy too I think, although I won't speak for her) was that I think I've had a tendency to plan God right out of camp, and this year He didn't let me. Because He saw to it that I couldn't do it any other way, I completely surrendered the week to Him, and it was awesome in ways I would never have expected! So, I've subtitled last week "Don't Major on the Minors"!

The TITLE, you ask? POOP WEEK. Don't laugh. We had more kids poop their pants, accidentally and on purpose, than I've had in all the other years combined. Not much fun, but it actually started to get funny after while. SO the kitchen staff memorialized Poop Week at our Friday night dinner by setting up this station for Cindy and I:



In case you can't read it, it's a stool, topped with a diaper and a link sausage (no that's NOT REALLY POOP) and a sign that says "Stool Sample for the Head Poop Head." Oh come on, that's funny! Well it was by that point in the week anyway, I don't care what you say!

Here's a picture of the kitchen staff, with their mascot "garlic and herb seasoning" - they used this stuff in EVERYTHING we ate!

Campers

Here's a sampling of a few kids from camp - sweet and cute, for the most part!


This is Dominique - an interesting little kid, to say the least. I'll leave it at that.


Kids and bubbles - hours of fun! It's amazing how the simplest things will thrill a 5 year old - sometimes I think we forget that and try to "entertain" them way too much!


Above is Adam, and this is the face he made everytime he was asked to smile - kinda scary!


This is Mikal - with stickers all over her face!


And last but not least, Jordan. He was my buddy by the end of the week - mostly because he'd been in to see me so many times for being naughty! :) He was really ornery but I totally fell in love with him. When it was time to pray and load the kids on the buses to go home, he jumped up in my arms and wrapped his legs around my waist and wouldn't let go! Made me cry.

A peek into Tot Lot

This is from carnival night - by our standards, perhaps, a lame little carnival, but the kids had a blast!! They got prizes at each station, threw water balloons at each other, and got their faces painted. They also had a picnic basket dinner on the playground, which is fun to the kids even when it's 100+ degrees.


Here's a picture of the girls' dorm - there's another row of bunkbeds opposite these, and the boys' dorm looks exactly the same, except messier! How does that always happen? I guess a bunch of little boys and teenage Big Brother counselors, none of whom care a lick about how neat their room looks! There are always flip flops and shoes everywhere on the boys' side, and it always smells horrible in there(some combination of sweat & pee and other things I either haven't figured out or don't want to think about). Anyway, each dorm can hold up to 20 kids, for a total of 40, but we only had 21 total this week, so it was a small camp.


Aren't these little toilets too cute?!! Just noticed the empty toilet paper holder - that happens I guess. Hard to keep up with things like that, although we sure try! The big piece of wood over the top of the big toilet tank has been like that for I think two years - I remember when it happened. The shelf above the toilet just fell down off the wall and crashed into the toilet, breaking the tank lid - I remember how thankful we were that there wasn't a kid sitting on that toilet at the time!

Home Sweet Home!

Home from camp, and I'm wiped out as usual! This picture was actually taken by my friends at camp somewhere mid-week ... but it is also what I did all day yesterday! Today remains to be seen ... I have lots more pictures and stories to share, so keep checking back!




This is Sharon, our Bible Teacher, at the end of the week, wearing what we affectionately dubbed "The Wordless Beanie" - it was in a pile of trash but we noticed it had all the colors of the wordless book, the teaching tool she used all week, so we thought she needed to wear it.



This is Cindy, the Director for the week. Don't be fooled by the apparent abundance of energy in this picture! :)

Off to camp!

Tomorrow morning I leave for Camp CUMCITO for a week. I'll be back next Saturday, probably exhausted, and hopefully with some good pictures to share! I'd appreciate your prayers for me as you are led. Have a great week!

It's blueberry season!

And this is one of my favorite recipes, so I thought I'd share before I head off to camp.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

1/3 c butter, melted
1 c sugar
3 T lemon juice
2 eggs
1 ½ c flour
1 t baking powder
½ t salt
½ c milk
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries

GLAZE:

2 T lemon juice
¼ cup sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in blueberries. Pour into a greased 8 x 4 x 2-in loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes or until bread tests done.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine glaze ingredients. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack.

Lazy days

Nothing much going on here ... I've had a couple of very quiet days as I prepare physically, mentally and spiritually to leave Sunday go to Camp CUMCITO, a camp in the Ozarks for homeless and inner city kids. I'll be the manager of Tot Lot next week, which is a camp for up to forty 4 to 6 year olds, and will get to work alongside my good friend Cindy, who will be the director. We always have an awesome time, and it is NEVER an easy week when we're together! So many of these kids come from completely impoverished environments that it can be very draining and heartbreaking at the same time, as well as exciting and wonderful.

No new pictures since the 4th, if I get some today I'll post them before I leave for camp.

Busy day today - Bible study with the girls, then errands. Gotta get some groceries so Greg can eat while I'm gone!!

So yesterday I was in the middle of a conversation with Christa, when she says calmly, "Hang on a minute, Mom. LEXI, DO NOT LICK YOUR PLATE!! Do NOT lick your PLATE!! Ok I'm back." She was finished eating her "awful" (waffle) and was going for the last dregs of syrup on her plate, the easiest way she could! (She had already tried and failed to scoop it up with her fork, can't blame a girl for trying!)

Food, family, fun and fireworks (sort of)

We had the folks and the kids over yesterday for a potluck barbecue to celebrate the 4th. The only thing missing was B.J., and he went to a crusade that I'm anxious to hear about. We started mid-afternoon, figuring the kids wouldn't be much into the fireworks, and that we could drive over near Shawnee Mission Park to see the good stuff later.

We just hung out, ate GOOD food, chatted, and watched the kids play - here's Lexi improvising with a sticker (I think she might have had Papa's help).


Here's the "GG's" - the great-grandmas - my (Angie's) mom Peggy on the left and Greg's mom Pat on the right.


Here's Lexi delivering her best throw with a snap pop - she had a pretty good time launching those at people's feet. Love the skeeter bite in her armpit too. :)


Here's Mason in Daddy's new hat - he LOVES hats and is fairly proficient at getting them on and off his little head.


Last but not least, the pitiful pile of fireworks we attempted (half of them are unused). We only bought ones that didn't go up in the air much (our trees) and didn't make much if any noise because we thought it would freak Mason out. Turned out they ALL freaked Lexi out, and after the third separate attempt, when she buried her head in J.R.'s neck and said, "Daddy, these fare [scare] me SO MUCH!" it was too heartbreaking to try anymore. So we packed it in about 8:00 and were all probably in bed by the time the good fireworks got going ... which was fine with us. It was still a lovely day.

All in eight hours!

While I was asleep last night, I had a baby, solved a murder, moved next door, and helped Greg rescue the bear and two tigers that were trapped in our garden. (Thankfully the bear was de-clawed and had a collar Greg could hang on to.) What?? It all seemed perfectly reasonable in my dreams.

I'm not so sure about these new sleeping pills ... :)

Chaos and madness at Papa and Nini's

Here's a funny series - it was funnier in real life of course! Papa is playing his guitar to a background CD, and both kids were just yelling and wrestling and carrying on the whole time! They were having a blast!




I took a video shortly after this, which is even funnier, but haven't been able to figure out how to post a video. Maybe another day.

Tricky toes

Yesterday afternoon the kids were here, and Lexi was taking one of her "non-naps." I finally went in to see what all the ruckus was, and found that I had dummied up once again and put the playpen too close to the OTHER dresser in the bedroom. Hello! Anyway, the drawer she got into this time contained about 20 elastic headbands, all of which were around her neck like necklaces, and at least 10 little hair barrettes - one of which was stuck between each of her ten toes! I wanted so bad to go get the camera but I had to be stern with her instead, trying not to die laughing, and get the hair stuff put away, the playpen moved away from THAT dresser too, tell her to lay down and go to sleep NOW, and get out of there before I cracked up. That girl.

Two stories

Something really cool happened last week. B.J. was at a bonfire for the volunteers at his church, and had taken his guitar for worship music. The sprinklers came on, and someone kindly moved his (black) guitar and stand out of the way. Well, when the festivities were over, he loaded everything up in his car and went home. He realized about 2:30 a.m. that he had forgotten his guitar! He went back for it, but it was gone. He told us about it when he called on Sunday - his attitude was such a blessing to me. Basically, he said that if God wanted to have a guitar he was trusting that He would replace it, otherwise he must not need it for this "season." So he was just going to pray and not worry about it. The next day I was talking to my friend Joan, and guess what she said ... "Hey I have this guitar here that's brand new - we got it because Kassi (her daughter) and I were going to take lessons, but it didn't happen, and it's been sitting here for a year." So, long story short, God replaced his guitar!! I shipped it to him Friday. Very, very cool and a fast answer to his prayer (and I believe his right attitude).

Friday I was playing Legos with Lexi, and I noticed one of her Legos had cross stickers on top of each peg. (She's WAY into stickers right now.) I asked her, what is this? She said, "A cross!" I asked her what she knew about the cross, and she said "Jesus!" I said, "What about Him?" She lowered her little head to her chest, and said, "It's very sad." I asked her why, and she held her hands out in front of her and said, "He got owies." I told her she was right, and then she said, "But guess what, Nini! He climb down off that cross!!" It blew me away - and then I got to share the baby gospel with her and tell her why He died, and rose again - so that she could be friends with God. Then she said, "He is my friend, He hug me and kiss me every night!" Wow.

Temper tantrum

Here's a few pictures of what a Mason tantrum looks like! Can't remember what it was about - if I was guessing it had something to do with food! :) I was more amused than he was, to say the least. I love the third one, where he's trying to wrench himself out of Mommy's grasp. Mommy won this round, but he is a STRONG little bugger so that may not be the case for long!!



Here he is with his leg caught under the dishwasher (it looks worse than it really was, all he had to do was turn his ankle, but he was pretty sure it was the end of the world as he knew it.)

I want a pony, Daddy!

Our daughter, Christa, went through a stage where at least twice a day she would whine, "I want a pony, Daddy!" Not uncommon for little girls, right? Well, this "stage" was about a month ago, she's 23 now, and she was calling him at work to tell him this just for fun. Goofy kid. So this pony showed up in the gift bag from her with his father's day present. He's still trying to decide what the best response is - mount it on the hood of his work truck? Save it to re-gift it back to her later? Any good ideas?