Spring Break 2013--Houston and a BIG Anniversary

My hubby took the girls and I to Houston for spring break, while our boys and the dog went to the grandparents in Missouri. We all met up in Missouri on Monday for a few days before coming back home to Iowa. It has been nice to have a casual schedule and spend more time together this week.

We went to Houston to visit Byron's wonderful aunt. She opens her home to us and treats us like royalty. It is so fun to spend time with the Texas relatives that we barely ever see.

(Byron also has three first cousins and their families in Houston.)

The girls had a lot of opportunities to wear their gorgeous boots:

 Beach day in Galveston:

toes in the water:

(the gulf water was cold)

I loved wearing flip flops every day!

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Besides enjoying spring break, this week marked one year of this little family living in Iowa.
We are so proud of this young mama and her hard work and dedication. She has completely changed their lives! They moved into our home last year in March and had never lived off of the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Now she has a CNA certificate, a full-time job with benefits, her own apartment, a vehicle, and daycare for her kids. I love seeing the smiles on their faces and knowing that the "fresh start" they were seeking has been a success! Praise God for answered prayers. I am so grateful for all He has taught me about Himself through Rosebud kids. :)

 play-do fun:

As we say goodbye to March in the next week, let's hope the snow and wind and cloudy days are behind us!  I am ready for spring!  (Ironic that it is snowing as I am typing.)

Friday Five--November news

1. A few weekends ago Brandon, Ryan and Meggan went to Missouri for youth deer season. Ryan and Meg were hunting for the first time, and Ryan killed a doe. It was fun to get to see a picture of the boys together with Ryan's first deer shortly after it was killed. (We weren't in the same state--love phone cameras and texting!)

Earlier this week, Meggan had a chance to get her deer--with Brandon again. He is earning major big brother brownie points!

2. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Ellyn's senior football banquet. She is sad to say goodbye to Ballard football. She has made so many great memories working on the sidelines as a manager and cheering from the stands with friends.

Then & Now (first game 7th grade and  last game 12th grade)

3. Ryan made honor band and recently had the performance. It was a great concert of 7th and 8th graders. He spent a lot of time preparing for the audition and learning the music. We're really proud of him for putting in the time it required. (Shame on me for not taking my camera!)

4. We have had several evenings this month to take care of our native friends while their mom worked.
This little girl just couldn't stay awake any longer...

5.  We had the last of the 4 fall birthdays--Brandon turned 20. It's a busy time of year with four birthdays within 3 weeks, but it's fun to combine celebrations. We took him to Hickory Park for the traditional bbq/ice cream family meal and bought him a tool box for his truck. We spent part of his birthday weekend doing fall clean-up in the garden, yard, and garage--so nice that he never minds helping outside with yard work.

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I am actually looking forward to dragging out the Christmas decorations this weekend--I've been ready to start for a couple of weeks. I can finally play my Christmas music without being hassled...then again, probably not.
Enjoy your weekend!

Update on our house guests

The Carson house continues to be a busy place. Apparently God knew we needed to slow down, so he gave us the stomach flu this week. So far Ellyn, myself, and Meg have had it... I say "so far" because I can't imagine that with nine of us under this roof, we are going to get by with only three casualties.

Today I thought I would catch up by giving an update on our house guests. Halena is a young, single mom from Rosebud Indian Reservation, and she has a 2-yr-old girl and a 10-month-old boy. They wanted to leave the reservation and get a new start at life. They have been living with us for over six weeks now.

There has been so much to do in the past six weeks. We have spent a lot of time trying to find employment and child care, signing up for assistance programs and medical care, taking care of ear infections, dentist appointments, eye appointments, studying and driving to prepare for getting a drivers license. The next step is to look into classes at a community college.

At home there have been lots of diapers, snacks, songs/fingerplays, toys, tantrums, play-do, bottles, books, meals, crying and messes--and lots of laughing! 

Of course, we have also had track meets, band concerts, homework, dance team auditions, piano lessons, business trips, college finals--I can't even believe all that we've done in the past several weeks!

We have an apartment for Halena and the kids to move into in the next couple of weeks. It is about a block away from our house, so we will still be very involved as they transition to living alone for the first time. 

This has not been an easy time, but I am so glad that Halena was able to leave the reservation and have opportunities for herself and children to better their lives.

Do what it says...

Having spring arrive early has been good for my soul. I'm guessing the same is true for everyone else. It has helped me feel renewed after the demands of hosting Levi for six months. Those six months were filled with both challenging and rewarding moments. The stress level was higher than we were accoustomed to, and the emotional demands were consuming most of the time.  However, God showed Himself in new ways with each challenge we faced. My faith was deepened as I looked to Him to get me through the tough days. It became more "normal" for me to do hard things, and I learned to trust God more even when I wasn't sure where the path would lead or how things would end. God had a plan to accomplish something and He was letting me be a part of it. What a priviledge...to be part of God's work in someone else's life.

In March, our family was presented with another opportunity to help someone from Rosebud Indian Reservation. A single mom and her two young children wanted to leave the reservation and start a new life in Iowa. They moved in to our home three weeks ago. Again, it has brought challenges and rewards. Babies require a lot of time and attention! The laundry, food, bedroom space, transportation and childcare needs of our now bigger family have been consuming. There is not enough time in each day to accomplish all that needs to be done. It is easy for me to complain that this is too hard. It is easy for all to see that it is not convenient. It feels MUCH more natural for me to desire my days to be fun and easy.  Then I open my Bible... God's Holy Word.  The Book I want to orient my life around. I can't find anything about fun and easy days; I find these words instead:

from Jesus, John 6:27
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him, God the Father has placed His seal of approval.

from Luke, Acts 20:35
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

from James, James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Ephesians 5:1
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

It isn't that easy to try to live like Jesus. He was never selfish. He never complained. He was not lazy. Instead...He was always patient, giving, thinking of others, serving, encouraging, loving...LOVING with his words and actions.

So in my effort to do what it says, these words are my prayer...

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Eph. 4:29

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.  Romans 12: 1-2

Busy days

Things are busy at my house. Not much down time.
Here's who we are hanging out with right now...

Still here... update

I am still here.
February was not a good month for me (saying goodbye to Levi, long winter, Byron had a long work trip, no sunshine).

Hello March! We are so glad you are here, and that you are bringing such goodness.

It's so easy to forget about blogging when you're busy with life. And the sun is shining.
I have good intentions to give some of these things their own posts, but for now, here's what we've been up to.

--I had another craft day and it was super fun and relaxing.
--Meg had solo contest and got a I+ on her trumpet solo.

--I stamped some cards, which I have missed doing the past couple of years.
--Ellyn and I, and some girls and their moms, spent an afternoon sewing pillowcase dresses to send to orphans in Africa. Pictures and post to come later.
--We had parent/teacher conferences for the three younger kids. (Apparently they don't have those for college kids...we think they should.)
--I got a hair cut and hilight = good hair days :)
--Ellyn had an eye exam (it had been a while) and still does NOT need glasses...the only one in the family, and extended family. Lucky duck.
--we headed to Missouri for spring break

--My mom and I stamped a bunch of cards. One of our favorite things to do together.
--We helped my sister-in-law celebrate her 40th...her bff's threw her a great party!
--We spent 2 days in KC for some spring break fun...shopping, eating, WW I memorial, Federal Reserve Bank money museum, more shopping, more eating. The trees were blooming!

--Spring break with sunshine and temps around 80 degrees every day!!!
--Byron started flying around in an airplane again (first time since 1987). He's in the pilot's seat. :)

--Brandon and Meg stayed with the MO relatives for the remainder of spring break.
--The MO cousins got an unexpected spring break because 20% of their schoolmates were sick and they cancelled school for the week (but the cousins are NOT sick!)
--so they all went fishing and caught a bunch of fish.

--Ellyn and Ryan came back to IA with us, for the end of spring break
--we cleaned out all the flowerbeds (that never, ever happens this early, since its usually cold, raining, or super windy...yay for a fabulous spring break)
--Ellyn and I shopped for and purchased her prom dress (gone 3.5 hrs...score!)
--We gave Ryan's room a new look (and cleaning)...maps, president posters, and the Declaration of Independence adorn his walls.
--Byron and I took Ryan on a date...yes, only Ryan. 2 parents/1 child/love.
--I sewed a fun apron for a friend to give as a gift. It has pompoms on it. :)

--I miss Brandon and Meggan. You can come home now, kids.

It feels really good that all these things have been accomplished--work, play, creativity, appointments, purchases taken care of. I have been crossing things off my list in a fury!

It's a good thing too, because we are going to get busy with something else. 
A very recent development...
A young, single mom from Rosebud Indian Reservation is going to move in with us for a short time. She has two babies...9 mos. and 2 1/2 yrs.
She needs a new start, opportunity, help, and the strength to accomplish these things.
It won't be easy. Please pray for us all.

Broken

Broken...
lives, hearts, homes, relationships, this world.

It is so hard for me to write this post. Last week was rough. Things have not been well with our Native American exchange student for some time. Levi is no longer with us.

Our hearts are hurting. He is filled with regret. Life is so complicated. Commitment is a challenge. Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. Peace is not always present. Battles have to be fought and victories are not always won.

We pray that Levi can return to our home. His future is unknown...unknown to us, but not unknown to our Lord.

God knows the plans He has for His child, Levi. I used to tell Levi that his theme verse was Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We are praying that he will believe and remember the Truth that he heard while he was with us, and that he will battle every day to make a better life for himself.

I am choosing to think on these truths:

• with Jesus, we can have peace in all circumstances
• God pursues individuals...He knows where and how to make Himself known to Levi
• because of my belief in the power of the Holy Spirit, I can expect the unexpected
• God overcomes opposition through the prayers of His people
• God orchestrates opportunity through prayer
• Even though I feel that time is running out, God has more than enough time to accomplish His plan

Please pray earnestly with us.

I am as flexible as a garden hose in July...

Flexibility is a requirement in my life right now. Byron's sister said the words in my title to me one time and I thought it was so funny! I am learning to be more flexible.

Some of you might be wondering how things are going with Levi, our student from Rosebud Indian Reservation. He has lived with us for exactly three months now. These months have been some of the most intense I have had. Some days are great, some days are stressful, some days are stable.

Levi is respectful, cooperative, and helpful. He has made attending school a priority and is working hard on homework. He is interested in life and asks questions all the time. There are so many things here (everywhere!) that he never experienced on the reservation. We have enjoyed having him with us and consider him part of our family.

He has had a few rough events in these three months. We have tried our best to work through them with him, helping him learn that he can trust us to look out for his well-being. We have shown him that we (and others) truly care about helping him make a better life here. We are excited to help him with plans for his future. It has been easy to come along-side him, since he is working so hard to do what it takes to succeed. It hasn't been easy for him, but he is making lots of good choices.

When we agreed to have Levi join our family, I could not have predicted some of the experiences we would encounter. I was prepared for things to be hard. For a while, just after making the final decision to have Levi live with us, I even had a day of panic. The unknown of what was coming filled me with fear. I believed the lies Satan fed me that said I needed to be completely available to parent my own four children, and no others. I believed the lie that said my children needed me too much for me to take on anything new, since three of the four were beginning public school and college for the first time. I was afraid to take a risk! We had arranged our lives to be predictable and safe. I knew that whatever came my way on a daily basis was likely something I could handle without problem.

Fortunately, God spoke truth to me and calmed my fears. He showed me all of the many people who have invested in my children over the years--friends, family members, teachers, coaches, church leaders. I realized that they would be just fine in their new educational experiences. He showed me how much my KIDS had to offer someone coming into our family. It wasn't just going to be my husband and I investing our time, energy and resources, they would be "givers" too. I realized how wonderful it would be for our family to do something for someone with no expectation of receiving anything back in return. God showed me that He would direct my paths.

I am learning not to plan for what the future days are going to look like. God is teaching me to take each day as He gives, and He is also providing what I need to get through what that day brings. I once said that hosting a teenager from Rosebud would keep me in God's word and on my knees. I didn't know the truth of my words at the time I spoke them. Thanks to God for providing for our every-single-day needs. I will try to let Him direct where we're going and I'm just going to keep working on being as flexible as a garden hose in July!

This and That Randomness

Meggan wanted to plant a garden this year. We are enjoying the fruits of her labors. She has made homemade salsa several times and it is fabulous--always gone within a few days. She is enjoying school and doing well. Sometimes homework is a drag. She is fortunate to have a great group of friends that make school more fun!

We bought a carton of eggs that was frozen. Most of the shells cracked. It was a mess, but Meggan enjoyed peeling the shell off of one to see what a frozen egg looks like. It looks like this:

Cross Country is over for Ryan and Levi. We had great weather for most of the meets.

Ryan is glad it's over, because he has his own running plan that he is ready to get back to. Sometimes working within the coach's plan was a challenge for him. He is very independent and self-motivated. He is also doing great in this new venture called public school.

Levi has cross country behind him and is looking forward to trying wrestling. We are proud of him for trying new things. He is getting into the swing of school and his classes. He has recently enjoyed some weekend trips with other families: one to K.C. for a day of fun, including a trip to a pumpkin patch; the other took him to MN for pheasant hunting.

Brandon has been enjoying fall hunting season by making a trip to Missouri. He brought back deer meat from a friend's kill. We ate it fresh last night, and a new friend of Brandon's joined us for supper. He is from Minnesota and is at ISU without a car. He hasn't sat around a table with a family for a while! I hope we weren't too overwhelming. This is the first fall in eight years that Brandon hasn't been playing football, which leaves more time for hunting.

Speaking of football...
Ellyn doesn't know what she's going to do when football season is over. She can hardly stand the thought of her football manager "job" coming to an end for the year. She loves football and the other manager/friends.  I bet she'll fill her extra time with something... like dance, the school musical, friends, etc. She never seems to have a dull moment in her life, which is partially due to loving her siblings so much and hanging out with them during her free time. She almost couldn't handle last weekend when Brandon and Levi were each gone hunting, and Ryan and Meggan were gone to a retreat.

Each week I say, "I think things will settle down a little around our house this week." Byron laughs now when I say it. There is always something unforeseen that seems to take the extra minutes of this season of our lives. 

The things I had planned to do once school started are still surrounding me. The piles of photos will have to wait. The messy craft table will also wait. This blog...it has to wait as well. :)

But Byron and these silly darlings will not wait...

Where do I start...

I have been away from my blog for more than two weeks, and I hardly know where to start. We've had a lot going on, and  I really want to get it all recorded before it slips from my memory, so here goes!

--On Aug. 14, we had the "End-of-Summer Scavenger Hunt" with 4 other families. It was our second scavenger hunt and was a blast! I want share more about it, so watch for a separate post about how to plan a photo scavenger hunt with friends!

--On Aug. 15, we added a member to our family. A 17-yr-old boy named Levi, from the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota came to live with us for the school year...we're praying it will be even longer. Our church created an exchange program and brought 23 kids from the reservation to live with host families in towns around the area.

--On Aug. 16, we moved Brandon into his dorm room at Iowa State University. It wasn't too hard on me emotionally, since he rode back home with us after we carried in his stuff and got it put away. :)  We took a picture of Byron and Brandon outside of Byron's old dorm room, which is in the same building. The other pictures I took of the day don't even have Brandon in them! My good intentions of taking lots of pictures was spoiled by rain. I could have at least taken one of him in his dorm room, but didn't!

--On Aug. 18, my youngest two, Ryan and Meg, started public school for the first time.  All four school kids posed for this picture:

first day of school - 2011

Then, they hurried to jump in Ellyn's car to head off to school. Except her car wouldn't start and it was blocking my car in the garage. I slowly worked my car out and we rushed off to school with the kids in a panic that they were about to be late for school on the first day!

--That same day, I started a new journey (which was my 2011"one little word") of being home all day with only a dog to keep me company. I had wondered all year what this day would be like, so I had saved lots of errands for this first day of school and had scheduled an appointment to donate blood (in case the day got too long!). Instead, the time flew by and I almost didn't make it back on time to pick up kids at school. :)

--The weekend of Aug. 20-21 brought a trip to the Des Moines farmers market with all seven of us on Saturday morning and to the Iowa State Fair on Sunday afternoon (Byron, Meg and Levi).

--On Tuesday, I hosted a craft day with friends. I had wanted to host a craft day since reading about Meg Duerksen's craft weekend back in February. I started smiling the minute I saw cars pulling into my driveway and ladies getting out carrying bags of crafty goodies and sewing machines! We had such a fun day and took lots of pictures--it definitely deserves its own post.

--This past Friday, Byron, Ellyn and I left for Rosebud to take Levi back for a funeral of a dear family member. It was my first time to go to Rosebud, after first hearing of it 4 years ago when Brandon went on a mission trip there. This weekend was also the Rosebud Fair, so several of the host families made the 8 hour drive to take their students back home for some fair fun and a chance to see their families.
We drove 8 hours on Friday and 8 hours back home yesterday. Ellyn stayed and rode back with another family today.

We are pretty tired today, so I am glad to be having a lazy Sunday afternoon! And especially glad to be catching up on the blog. :)