A Year of Blogging... Barely : )

My Year in Review... 

In January, we started the year at our cabin... 

Love it up there and love this picture of my girlie....

In February, we celebrated our 26th Wedding Anniversary and spent it in Seattle.

In March, we visited our kids in Kansas City, Kansas....

In April,  we hosted a tea to support Haiti orphans...

In May, my girlie finished her junior year of high school and we visited our friends in the south...

In June, we tried to stay home for a minute... the dog loved some pool time...

In July, we visited the cabin again and celebrated the 4th with some of our grands....

In August we came home from Haiti... oh I miss those kids and hope to be able to go again next summer.

and my girlie turned 17!

In September, I turned 50 and I went to New York with some of my best friends! It was a great trip! And my husband gave me a surprise birthday party with all my friends. So fun!

In October, we celebrated one of our grandson's birthday and took my brother out to dress up!

I have the greatest friends ever!

Really, I do!

In November we went home again and celebrated with the family.

No pics yet. Still on my camera.

: )

And in December my hubs had surgery on his shoulder (rotator cuff) and we celebrated at home.

No New Years at the cabin this year. : (

It has been a good year, with growth in many different areas.  I have had two surgeries. The first one was not so major but the second one was. It has been a slow healing process and I am wondering if I will ever get back to what I used to be. 

My running is way down so with the new year, that will be one of my new or start again commitments.

Blessings,

Kim

I Am Still Here!

Somebody tell me what to do with my blog....

Hahahaha!

I haven't had a camera in awhile.  I took mine into a shop in July, they had it for over a month and then I finally got it back and it lasted 3 weeks : (

I have been using my daughter Nikon.  I am not used to it so I find myself using my iPhone camera way more than I should.  

I am getting out of the habit of using my camera.

I feel like I need to start over.

My husband mentioned getting me a new camera so I thought we should get the same kind I had (sony Alpha series) but I am gun shy to purchase another one since this one lasted about 5 years.

There's my story...

In the last month we visited home only 3 times. Ha!

My husband had shoulder surgery last week so we are on the down low.  I put it this way... we are grounded.  : )

Blessings,

Kim

I will be doing my favorites of the year and some Christmas pics.

Anyone doing another 365? or a P52?

or something?

October Fun....

I am so far behind posting on this little blog of mine.

I do enjoy posting when I get around to it.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to a pumpkin patch.  I still make my kids go and we have to take pics.

They love it for the most part. 

We have fun and enjoy time together.  We are going in many directions so its nice to focus on one set time to do something together.

So we did.

Blessings,

Kim

August and September... Where Did It Go?

August and September has come and gone....

At the end of August my girlie turned 17! We had a party and did the traditional picture of her with the balloons.  We have done that pose since she was a baby...

Then---my friends and I went to NYC to celebrate my 50th Birthday! We had so much fun! I love these women so much! Friends for LIFE!
We had a jam packed week and enjoyed every second....
We also headed to Hoboken, New Jersey to check out Carlos' Bakery! We ate way too much!

August and September was spent traveling, celebrating, football games, volleyball games, carpools, a couple trips to Disneyland and a few trips to the hospital with my dad.

It has been fun, trying and very busy....

God is good all the time...

Blessings,
Kim

Haiti Trip 2016 Part 2

On the day before we left Haiti, we took some time to go to the seashore. 

I love the beach and always have.

This was different of course.

This is Haiti.

Beautiful water... and beautiful people...

This sweet girl in a yellow dress wanted to help us find sea shells....

I asked her where her parents were and she told me "at home."

I hope that was the case...

A lot of children walk around by themselves...

Blessings,

Kim

Haiti Trip 2016

I have been back from Haiti for about 2 1/2 weeks....

It seems surreal.

Before I left, I felt a burden to take in every second of the trip and to take it slow in my mind because I knew everyday would fly by.

I told myself to enjoy every second, even the hard ones, and to write every night when I got back to the base.  

I stumbled across this quote from Jim Elliot- "Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."

That is how I went into my trip and how I have been trying to live since I came home.

It is so easy to get so busy that you mindlessly go from one event to another.  Even during a mission trip.

Our journey to Haiti was everything we wanted and more.

We enjoyed seeing some of the same kids that we connected-bonded with and some new ones that have since came to the orphanage.  The numbers are over 100 now.  

It was joyful but yet sorrowful.

It was beautiful but yet ugly.

It was happy but yet so sad.

It was long but yet quick.

It was exactly where I wanted to be but yet at times I needed to flee from the sadness.

The above picture is of one of the new boys.  I don't know his story. So many kids and so many stories as to why and how they got there.

Blessings,

Kim

Summer Time

Summer time…

My camera is still in the shop… can you believe that??? Way too long…

I am still using my girl's camera

and my iPhone…

We have done a lot this summer…

at times I feel like it's too much.

Tomorrow my girlie and I 

(and a team from church) head out to Haiti.  We are so excited.

I can't wait to see these sweet kids again…

the pics are the following:

our back yard pool on a summer night…

two of them are of the canyon by our house… 

our backyard tree (from our old house)

the beach (never spend too much time there…. never)

found an old pic of my girlie from vbs 2007

and an old pic from Haiti…

Blessings,

Kim

A Week in The Woods...

Our family goes every which way anymore…

My girlie is so busy with sports, serving at church, cheerleading, and getting ready for Haiti.

My boy has been working and school, my hubby travels so much for work and I am just trying to keep some kind of normal around our house.

We used this week at our cabin to catch up and enjoy each other.  

We try to come up every 4th of July.  The little town has a great firework display and we can take our quads out all week.

We did just that… we took our quads on rides all over the mountain.  We packed our lunch and headed out. We were gone for hours…

We had dirt everywhere.

But we had so much fun exploring.

Blessings,

Kim

Still Blogging….

I am still here…

Not sure what I am doing with this blog…

I so enjoy it when I do blog…

I think next year I will do the 365 again.  It keeps me on track.

We are in our mountain retreat… we are with
one set of grands and their mommy and daddy and one extra grand…
We love the time up here together...

It is so peaceful.

While up here, I have been going through my old pics on my old laptop and backing them up to an external hard drive. 

AND--- I am dying inside…

Where does the time go???

It makes me so sad how fast my kids grew up…

and I want to cherish every second I have left..

My boy is still in college and my girlie is a Senior in high school.

Crazy!

We have had so many memories up here at our little cabin..

one of the best investments we have ever made.

This is an old pic of our little cabin in the woods : )

Winter circa 2010

Project 52. Week 24... Starting again... : )

Life is crazy but so blessed!

We have been in the mist of packing and preparing to attend our summer youth camp.  My girlie is a Senior and it will be her last year as a student.  I imagine that next year she will serve, possibly in Junior high or with Freshmen girls.

This will most likely be my last year as a counselor.  The girls I disciple are also Seniors in high school so when they are done, I will probably find something else to do.

I feel like I have reinvented myself many times in the last few years.

First, mommy, then homeschool mommy, then homeschool group leader, then after the move, homeschool high school activity director, homeschool formal co-director, then carpool mom, and sports carpool mom, team mom,  growth group leader and through it all-

wife trying to serve and find her way...

and most important-Child of God!

I wonder what is next???

These pics are from a few days this week that we did nothing but hang out at the pool...

My doggie loves the pool!

Did I tell you that my camera is broken???? It has been about 1 month! I have been using my girlie girls and my iphone! Ugh! I don't know hers as well.  Different type!

I need to get it to the shop!

Also- Happy Flag Day this week!

God Bless America!

Blessings,

Kim

Where in the World is Kim???

I am home again after a busy few weeks.

We flew to the desert to visit the older kids for our grandson's birthday...

Then from there we flew to Louisiana to visit our besties for a graduation trip.

We went to Alabama and sat on the HOT beach! So beautiful!

White beautiful sands but I am not sure how to handle the hot part.  Hahahahaha!

California beaches are much colder.

After a week there, we flew back to our home time for our old Pastors son's wedding.

Such a sweet wedding and it was great to see all my old friends.

I am now finally home : )

Blessings,

Kim