Family pictures

Well it was time, actually we were overdue in having family pictures taken. It has been (choke) since Addie was 9 months old. Now, it's not that I have not taken a million pictures of the kids- because I have. I have the compact camera, the DSLR camera, the video camera.... my kids are probably some of the best documented kids out there. But in terms of professional photography- I am lacking.

So on a cold Saturday morning in the middle of a corn field and a gravel road- I brought my family photo album back to current. So here we are and I must say I LOVE how they turned out. I am more than pleased and for that I have to give due credit to A Moment in Time Photography. They are simply perfect!

Addie age 6, Nate age 14 and Tyler age 12 2013

 

There is not luch to say here but how pleased I am. These pictures say it all- beautiful!

 

 

A good friend is worth their weight in gold

 

This blog just wouldn't be complete without a post about Ty's faithful companion. Cowboy has been a part of our family since I was pregnant with Addie. He joined our family in 2006. Cowboy is 1/2 Weim and 1/2 lab. From what we have been told the Weim in him makes him a dog that is attached to a family for life. Which is good, because he knows our family and what we expect and I would HATE to start over again!

 

But let me start from the beginning......

 

Cowboy is a farm dog gone city dog. Despite the fact that his favorite thing in the world at out old home was freely running out in the field chasing Arden's combine and the tractors that would run up and down our gravel road. He has somewhat smoothly adjusted to city life. Don't get me wrong, he loves the freedom of running in the yard untethered from the confines of a chain to the barn, but there is no adventure here! No combines to chase and no tractors to bark at and certainly no best friend Sadie to follow.

 

But such is life when you are a dog....I mean what family lets you make the decisions??

 

Cowboy is actually Tyler's dog. He is cared for and loved by Tyler and as I said above... worth his weight in gold to him. He faithfully has endured a move, a new way of life and all that is weathered by a dog who loves the freedom he was accustomed to....

 

But friends even in life that are steadfast and true ARE worth their weight in gold. I have friends that have stuck with me despite the fact that we have moved and don't see each other anymore and that is such a blessing.  The remain entwined in my life and although their role may shift and change, they still are important to me and I still feel important to them. Some things never change......

 

I decided to forever make note of this today because a random, simple act from a friend made my morning this morning. A friend of mine from our previous home thought of me today, sent me a text early this morning before I was up and told me she missed me. What a simple way to let someone know you care. Even though I have been gone and even though I have only seen her once a year, this one random act made my day. And THAT was definitely worth it's weight in gold. I only hope that I can somehow perform a random act of kindness back to someone that will make as significant of an impact one day.

Lessons from generations past

Sometimes I fall off the face of the earth for awhile, I think it means that life is what happens when you are busy making plans I guess. We have been busy, not busy enough to make my blogging take a back seat so more for myself than anyone else I apologize for letting it go.

For some reason though, I felt the urge to write in it again. I think it is because in Iowa we are on the middle of my favorite time of the year. Fall. It.is.beautiful. There really isn't much more to say than that. It is the time of year where the air gets crisp, the leaves skitter across the driveway and the combines are seen rolling in the fields full steam. I LOVE it. It is absolutely my favorite time of the year. THIS year though, life has gotten in the way. As much as I love to sit and watch my son's play football, when there are 4 games a week in various towns and in various stadiums and in various places the landscape begins to blur together. In our house it sounds something like this....."Were we in Adel last week? No Clarinda.... were we there for Tyler? No, Nate. We are there next week for Tyler, remember? and for JV we are at Clarinda, and then for freshmen we are in Denison..." in other words, the towns and the players and the places blend together. But that is to be expected when you are going to freshmen games, JV games and middle school games.

But I think the thing I really like about fall is that it reminds me alot of my grandparents. I come from a long line of hardworking people. Farmers, business owners and house wives who fed their farmers and raised their babies. I am proud that my heritage has such hard working people. I think of my grandparents a great deal, especially since they are now all gone, but mostly this time of the year. THIS is the time of the year where I can sit and imagine and see my grandpa on his tractor bringing in a load of beans and where I can still see my grandma Shirbroun sliding her just baked pan of brownies into an old feed sack to run them out to my grandpa and the guys in the field. I can see them, and especially now I miss them..........

Both sets of my Grandparents farmed at some point in their lives, one set of my grandparents took over the farm my great grandpa farmed and now my father farms. When I think of the history on those fields, the generations before my dad and how they would farm and how my dad now farms, it makes me smile. How things have changed and how they have gotten better, and worse. Things were once simpler, now so advanced. Things were so much smaller for my grandpa and now for my dad, so much larger... more expensive.... more complex. I miss some of the simplicity, but I love the technology. Bittersweet. This is the time of year where I think alot about how I was raised. I can remember sitting on the bench behind my grandpa "shirb" on his tractor watching the combines roll in to empty his harvest, and when I see the farmers start to roll in the field I smile....

 

I try to teach my children to repsect this landscape and it's beauty. I try to tell them stories of their grandparents ands great grandparents so they understand just how hard they worked and how hard they had it. I think the kids appreciate it and that makes me happy too. I am proud to be from Iowa and from generations that worked hard to get agriculture where it is today. They were the pioneers, my grandparents, and my great grandparents and generations before them. How lucky we are to have been able to be a part of such a proud history!

So until next time, I will sit back, enjoy the view and relish the memories of my generations past. How I miss those wonderful, hard working people.... but in a way they are here with us today and especially this time of year reminding me of where I came from and what I represent. Happy harvest!

 

Holding on tighter.... Letting go

This past week for me has been tough. I mean TOUGH. I had a double hit, Nate left for a 5 day trip to Washington DC and Addie had kindergarten round up and screening. I know many people would say how is that tough? Sounds easy to me.... true- unless it is you going through it- your child getting on that plane or being led back to be screened for kindergarten. Let me explain.
When you have your child you are handed this tiny little bundle and you think you have all the time in the world. You make big plans of things you want to do with them, things you want to show them. You think you have all this time to show them how to grow up, to educate them and to spend time with them and then you wake up one day and they are almost 14 and are getting on a plane all by themselves to fly halfway across the country. Inside I was screaming NO!! I am not done yet- I have things to show him and things to teach him. I still want him to NEED his mom! I am not ready for him to be grown up enough to handle this, but reality sinks in and you smile and hug him and in the end you hold on a little tighter, but you have to let go.

I was asked several times why I didn't chaperon his trip and to be honest as he walked away from me at the airport I second guessed that decision myself. I should have, cause then I would be there if he needed something. What if he ran out of money? I would be there to give him more... and if he was making poor decisions then I would be there to correct him, right? Truth of the matter is.... he was better off without me there and I knew it. He needed to make these mistakes or decisions on his own. He needed to learn how to manage his money and how to get through security and how to pack everything he bought in his suitcase for the trip home. He needed me to stay behind.

So we packed him up and drove him to the airport and I smiled and got excited for him but deep down inside I was so SAD to have to let him go. Could he be this old already? Could he be four years from leaving the nest? Could he be driving in less than 2 months? When did that happen and how did I not see this coming? Time marches on I guess no matter how badly we want it not to.
So I waved goodbye and watched the group walk up the ramp to the security checkpoint. As we left the airport my husband and kids kept telling me how proud they were that I didn't cry! How awesome that I didn't tear up! But we got to the car and my emotions got the best of me and I broke down. I cried- I mean sobbed... so happy for him but so sad to see my precious kids growing up. When??? When did this happen?
And like all parents who have a moment of weakness, I cried and picked myself up and then moved on.. I had my moment and now we start the countdown to when he comes home.

Nate at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

 

And my soon to be kindergartner? Well... the next day I got through that too. They led her away and she did her screening and passed with flying colors. She informed the teachers she studied! She made sure she was ready for kindergarten next year. I will not be ready, but she made sure she will be.

 

I remember my mom telling me when my first son was born that our job as parents is to give our children roots to grow and wings to fly. I hope I am doing that. I try, and I cannot lie, when I pick Nate up from the airport tomorrow I will be at peace to know all my ducklings are under my wing again.

 

So I dedicate this post to me. I did it- I let go. The moment I knew it was the right thing to do was last night when Nate called me to say goodnight, We finished our conversation and he said "love ya, bye mom" I sat there and waited to hear him hang up and after a few seconds of silence I said "Nate? Sweetie? Are you still there? You can hang up now...."

 

You know what he said back?  "mom, you always hang up first, I don't want to go..."

 

That was all this mom needed to hear.......

 

 

Lessons in sports...

Tyler's last basketball tournament (apologize for the fuzzy picture)

I am a sports mom.... what I mean by that is I have kids in every sport imaginable. I have cheered on my wrestler, football player, track participant, soccer player, basketball player, cheerleader and baseball player. I have sat through wind, rain, sub zero temperatures, heat indexes well above 100 degrees farenheit and in gymnasiums, football fields, track fields, wrestling mats and in sweaty, smelly cramped bleachers. I KNOW what it takes to be your child's biggest fan. What I also know is that I have learned many vaulable lessons in sitting there cheering on my favorite sports particpants and teams. Great lessons... life lessons. I am going to share these mainly because today I watched my son take last place in a tournament he worked so so hard on. You know the best part? He was happy... HAPPY to be there. He was smiling, he was laughing, he was excited about his part in the game and he was proud. Of himself- his team and his coaches and it didn't matter if they were first or last... they were all WINNERS in his book. I am so proud... so very very proud.

1. Always...always...always tell your child you are proud. Whether they score the most points, the least points, no points. Tell them you are proud because what it all boils down to is that all they care about us what you think of them- not that W on the scorecard.
2. Be the bigger man when it comes to you and your opponent. I saw teams who were getting beaten by 40 points or more smile, not get frustrated and still trying 100% to get that one more point. They never gave up and they never quit.
3. Do not be THAT parent. You know the one... the one who is so engrossed in their child's performance they cannot breathe or look away from their viewfinder as the videotape every single breath their child takes. What are you missing behind that viewfinder?
4. For every negative you mention to to your child "you could have done this..." or "maybe you missed this"... follow with at least 2 positives. If all you give them is negative what can they feel proud of?
5. Learn from my son, be the best athlete you can be whether you win or lose, whether you are ahead or behind, whether you are excelling or lag behind. Learn from mom son because I am fortunate enough to have learned from him today.

I know there is more I can say I learned... but I wanted to take a minute to say how I feel today because this post is dedicated to my amazing son who taught me today about how to be the winner despite what the scoreboard says... and I could not be any prouder. Love you Tyler, I am the luckiest mom in the world.

Where or where could we be?

Now I am sure you are wondering...as many people have been... where are we? Have we dropped off the face of the earth? Did we come back from Florida and disappear into oblivion? No... not really... we just have..been..kinda busy.
I was told long ago by my parents that "life is what happens when you are making plans" this is true... so VERY true.
Imagine my surprise when after settling into a routine after returning from Florida that Clint comes to me and says "what do you think about a move south?" Long...VERY long story short. ( I am going to make this as short as possible folks) Clint accepted a job, he quit a job, we sold our house without  listing it, he got a real estate license, we relocated 3 hours south and much closer to family, we bought a house, we changed school systems which lead to me applying for and GETTING a job... and whew.... it's not over yet... we started a new school, I started a new job, the kids started new activities, we started a new preschool, and finally... yes finally we are now settling into a new "normal" at least fo now for us. We have been here 4 months- in a new town and now have new friends and new relationships we are buidling. In this whole mess I beacme horribly deliquent in our blog, Many apologies. We... are... well.... adjusting.
I have been asked what the biggest change has been for us. Honestly it has been the forced move into town. We are so used to being "country people" that this has been hard. We have adjusted, knowing full well this is just a stop in the path we are meant to take. We will get there. Together we will get to wherever it is we are meant to be. I realize now that there are more changes ahead for us and we may very well move again and while 2 months ago they thought sent me reeling, I am okay with it now.
The kids- the are GREAT. Kids are strong, they adjust. The best gift you can give them is wings to fly. We hope in taking them to new communities and new opportunities they WILL fly... and so far they have. They have met friends, have maintained the straight A averages they have had and have maintained old friendships in our old community while making new friends here. I think they truly will be better rounded people who are comfortable making friends because of this opportunity we have given them.
So where have I been? 4 months+ of living life, opening doors, walking through them. Was it scary? Yes. Would I do it again? Probably, but ask me in a year beacsue so far we are still adjusting. But we will grow where we are planted- this I can assure you, and for now the roots are digging in!
Stay tuned- life is just bound to get more interesting for us!
~Laura

                                               Kids this summer at the Shirbroun reunion

We are NOT on vacation anymore!

Where have I been? I can answer that with a million places....soccer, concerts, preschool field trips, running kids to church etc etc. but I will just say that I cannot and should not bore you all with details. It has been, in a word, chaotic since our return from vacation. Clint has been thrown into the hectic schedule of spring in Iowa and I have begun my daily prayer for just enough rain that he can have one day off every two weeks. We were lucky, last weekend we managed to have a weekend TOGETHER at a 40th birthday party in southern Iowa. All thanks to the almost 2 inches of rain we had received two days before it. I guess we are thankful for the little things.
Have I mentioned how pretty spring in Iowa can be though? I mean when you stop to really look at the farmers in the field and the green grass and the lilac bushes? It can be beautiful. I know I complain and I mean I really complain.....about the mud and the dust and the smell of newly overturned dirt (can you say allergies?) but it can be pretty and sometimes you just have to take the time to notice it.
Clint and I have seen each other all of maybe 20 minutes in the past 4 days. Kind of a hello/goodbye type of relationship. He leaves for work at 6:30 and does not get home until 10pm or after... and I leave for work on Mon-Weds-Friday at 4:15 and get home in time to meet the kids bus. But in all the hectic rush rush of things I do appreciate the fact that we have jobs... we have parents here to greet and say goodbye to the kids and we have an opportunity to live where you can really appreciate the whole beauty of spring planting in an agriculture state!

So in new news.....in order to help the kids with what they want to do....I have made a leap and gotten my first fishing license! They want to go fishing- and since dad is busy...well I will suck it up. I got one but have informed the kids it was with the condition that I do not have to touch the bait- the fish ANYTHING having to do with the sport. Too bad it is going to be cold this weekend or we would go but there is plenty of summer left.
Nate has had a call from a local farmer wanting to hire him this summer (when did he grow up??) and will be starting weight lifting this summer in prep for football. Ty has been running his wheels off in soccer and Addie and I attended an enlightening field trip to Godfather's pizza together yesterday (in case you are wondering a whole preschool class DOES fit in a walk in freezer!) Our life continues to go in a normal and frantic way and we are missing vacation and dad until his schedule lightens up again.

A stop to see dad in his "tank farm"

So from our family to you take time to enjoy the spring and stop to smell the lilacs! We may no longer be on vacation, but are looking forward to the upcoming summer break we hope to receive.....