And the Winner Is.....

This summer we were delighted with the efforts of the children to enter the Pivot Country Fair. With 140 entries submitted by our family, we came out with the prize for the family with the most entries. Our initial investment was matched and nearly octupled! (Is that a word?!!! LOL) Everyone did well. 

We did photos of the kids with their favorite projects this year.

Breanna's favorite projects consisted of her pinata and some cupcakes she had made. Of all her ribbons, only the green ones do not represent money.

Myles favorite project was of course the one he put the most time into - his popsicle stick house. He had done such a great job of it, painting it and the whole bit, that they could not tell that he used recycled popsicle sticks and so he did not win anything in that category, but we know he deserved it! He did great. Another favorite entry was a drawing he did of a dragon which, by the way, placed first in its category.

Charity's favorite projects included some jewelry, photography, a greeting card and some baking. She is pretty pleased with her winnings as well!

Melodee's favorite projects were of course her angry bird and a popsicle stick house she had built. What I liked about her house was that she put the shingles on (using craft foam) exactly the same way that you would put shingles on a real house! That's what experience does for a person! Great job Melodee!

Beth's favorite projects included her sunset at the farm photo story, her writing and a necklace she had made.

Naomi's favorite project was of course her oil painting. She did some baking as well and decided to have her picture taken consuming it!

So all said and done, there were a LOT of ribbons handed out to these amazing kids! In fact there were so many that they completely covered the entire dining room table and we had to squeeze them closer together to make them all fit. It was hard to get a picture with them all in, so we took photos from a couple of different angles.

Just check out the expressions on the faces of these kids! That is the look of a job well done!!! I am so impressed with their determination to share their talents in this way. There is nothing like the feeling of succeeding at something that was hard, and not just succeeding, but excelling!!! One day, we may look back over our lives covered with ribbons, much like my dining room table. Everything we do with effort and love receives a ribbon, only in life we aren't competing against anyone but ourselves. Sometimes we do things just for show, without putting our heart into it, and the ribbon received is nothing more than 'participant'. I hope, that were my life to be measured in ribbons, there would be few if any green ribbons and hosts and hosts of excellent effort ribbons. Because I fall short, get tired, or forget to do things, my life will most definitely have blue and white ribbons as well, but in my efforts to serve my Father in Heaven, I truly desire to serve Him with my whole effort! The rewards will be much greater for such a life, and the initial investment will be realized way beyond being octupled. I believe it will be immeasurable. 

What a joy it is to see the success of my children, and find that feeling amplified in my own life through their accomplishments. I truly delight in the joy of my children!

Down to the Crunch

July was an extremely busy month at our house as we prepared for the Pivot Country Fair - a place where the crafts, artwork, photography and baking that the kids had done for the past year could be displayed, judged, and if we were lucky, even win some prize money. Who wouldn't like prize money... So the kids filled their time preparing numerous exhibits!

They did some paint by numbers that I had picked up for a summer project...

They went through all their school projects from the past year and selected a few things that they could enter as exhibits. In school this year Melodee and Charity were both given the opportunity to make models of tee-pees. They did a great job and decided to enter them in the fair.

Myles spent a great deal of time and effort putting together a house out of popsicle sticks that he has painstakingly saved for several years now. He did an amazing job on it!

Breanna chose to sew a bag. She did a great job. I guided her as to giving instructions, but she did the work herself. Way to go Breanna!

And then there was the pinata projects!!! Every year for our family reunion, we always make sure to have a pinata to crack open. The girls decided to make them early this year so they could enter them in the fair. Breanna made Mike Wazowski off of Monsters Inc.. She did a great job of the project too.

Charity decided to design her pinata after Donald Duck. She creatively created his beak, wings and legs. She was pretty pleased with the results. I must say that this year our pinatas for the reunion are the most creative and lovingly created EVER!!!

Melodee also made a pinata. She chose to make an 'Angry Bird' designed after a currently popular computer game. She did a great job, and after going to so much work, decided that hers would remain a decoration because she didn't want it to be smashed to pieces in a pinata breaking game.

Naomi spent a fair bit of time working on her art. Beth also did an acrylic painting. They both entered the writing categories as well as a fair bit of photography.

When everyone was done entering the fair we had about 140 exhibits. That just shows how busy the kids kept in preparing for the fair. Most of it was done in the 2 weeks since school let out and there were moments when I felt like our house was a crazy house. It took a full 24 hours to label everything so that it was ready to be entered!

It has always fascinated me that when one has a deadline, great things can be accomplished. Yet, if we work toward a deadline consistently over a longer period of time, we actually have better results. This year I saw exhibits that were slapped together and also exhibits that received a lot of time and attention. Had we put as much effort into preparation throughout the year, instead of cramming it in to 2 weeks, we all would have done much better, felt more prepared, and more confident in our entries. I would have liked to enter several more items than I did, but there simply wasn't enough time for me because I was so busy helping my children prepare. Most of my entries consisted of the projects I had done through out the year. How thankful I am to be busy consistently - and not just when the stress is on. So much stress can be avoided by careful planning, and NEXT year, I plan to have my children more prepared for this event so we can enjoy it more fully!!!

Upon the Waters

Water brings joyful childhood memories back to my mind. I remember how the irrigation water used to fill up a low spot in the yard creating a large 6" deep puddle that was ideal to play in. Sometimes it got even larger and we would dig ditches and trenches to tunnel the water to and fro. But most of all, I remember splashing and playing in that puddle as though it were the grandest swimming pool ever. It never really even got stagnant because the irrigation pipes had just enough holes in them to keep it full. I'm sure I came in on numerous occasions covered in mud, yet my mom never scolded me for being dirty, I simply had to change into clean, dry clothes to enjoy the rest of my day. (While I don't have a picture of us playing in the puddle as young children, the puddle was a nearly permanent part of our yard for many years. This is a picture of me as a teenager with that puddle still there in the background.)

This year it has been fun to observe my family playing in the water. Now we don't have a convenient, ever present mud puddle in our yard thank goodness, so we go play where there are large bodies of water suited to that purpose. Our first water excursion this year occurred in July in Taber on the River. Given how high the river was in early spring, it was kind of fun to see that it was now low enough that we could go out onto the sandbars and dig in the sand, discover water smoothed rocks flat enough to skip along the surface of the river, and try out our new kayak! We even discovered a number of clams, and had we been so inclined could have had a mighty feast of clam (I have no idea how to do that though so we left them for someone else to enjoy).

Naomi had secretly packed the vehicle with everything we would need for a meal and the water activities we had planned to engage in - including life jackets, water shoes, kayak, picnic supplies, water, camera and more... The kids and I drove to Taber where we met their dad on his way home from work to enjoy a fun evening together. The kids caught on pretty quick to what our plans were when they noticed all the stuff in the back. We started out with our surprise picnic. The mosquitoes were terrible so we hurried through the meal and then moved on to the water activities. A few of the kids and myself explored for a way to get the boat to the waters edge (this was where we discovered the clams). Everyone else followed once the boat was ready. 

 

Breanna was delighted to be the first in the boat with her dad. She did everything she could to paddle, but the river was very strong and it was a lot of work for Chad to prevent the boat from moving too far down the river. Next, we had an older child give it a try. Myles happily hopped in and they shoved off. Once again it was a challenge to keep the boat pointed upstream, but together they made a little headway. It was still a lot of work, and so we decided that boating would need to be saved for a future date with less current.

While they were testing the waters, everyone else found activities that occupied them at the waters edge. Melodee, Charity and Breanna especially enjoyed wading at the waters edge going in up to their knees and of course splashing each other. They also enjoyed seeking out flat river polished stones that they could skip. They tried to beat each other with the number of skips the rocks would take. At one point we came across a set of paddles left on the beach and the kids fully enjoyed splashing one another with them. Naomi was quite interested in getting sunset pictures for the upcoming fair. She found a feather on the beach and found a creative way to include it in her photo shoot.

While we didn't get to do as much boating as we had hoped, it was a delightful evening that allowed us to spend some fun time together. Life is so full of these great opportunities. I have found over the years that to take advantage of the greatest opportunities of our lives, it takes concentrated effort and even some sacrifice in order to make these things happen. However, I cannot think of a greater priority than family. What a blessing it is to love and be loved.

"Time Flies on Wings of Lightning"

Improve the shining moments;

Don’t let them pass you by.

Work while the sun is radiant;

Work, for the night draws nigh.

We cannot bid the sunbeams

To lengthen out their stay,

Nor can we ask the shadow

To ever stay away.

Time flies on wings of lightning;

We cannot call it back.

It comes, then passes forward

Along its onward track.

And if we are not mindful,

The chance will fade away,

For life is quick in passing.

’Tis as a single day.

As wintertime doth follow

The pleasant summer days,

So may our joys all vanish

And pass far from our gaze.

Then should we not endeavor

Each day some point to gain,

That we may here be useful

And ev’ry wrong disdain?

Improve each shining moment.

In this you are secure,

For promptness bringeth safety

And blessings rich and pure.

Let prudence guide your actions;

Be honest in your heart;

And God will love and bless you

And help to you impart.

You know, I love that song, and I have sung it in church many, many times during congregational singing, yet, I don't think it has ever felt more true than now. This summer has literally flown by. In fact, here I am writing about summer and it is already half way through September!!! I have many posts to write the cover the multitude of activities that filled our summer. However, in a moment of introspection, I can't help but think that time is our greatest resource, and given how quickly it passes, it sure is important to use it wisely for we cannot call it back.

Each time I think about how quickly time passes, I am reminded how this is the TIME to prove ourselves. In the proving we are required to spend our TIME in the service of others. We are advised to spend quality TIME with our families. To put TIME into relationships which strengthens and draws individuals closer together. If we neglect to spend the required amount of TIME in eternal pursuits, it will be much like spending our money on frivolous things which leave us with nothing to show for its value. In recent weeks, TIME has become extremely valuable to me. I have had very little of it to spend leisurely, yet I thrive on the work and the value I see in TIME well spent. It is the challenge of the good life, to invest our TIME wisely, in love, so that the duration of our TIME here, does not ever culminate in harrowing regrets. I am so grateful for the gift of TIME for I know that in time, good choices will lead to an ETERNITY enjoying the relationships we value so highly every day.