The Grandest of Our Days!!

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You guys.

I have the cutest, most enthusiastic, fun, joyful, full of life, adorable grandchildren on the planet!

Yes, I am allowed to say so!!

A day full of grandchildren is the grandest kind of day!

I love them to pieces and they fill my cup to overflowing every time I see them!!

Just look at our Saigey girl – how big she is getting and how much she is changing!

There I days I see Clyde in her, and then the next time I see Briar, and then Aspen, and also River!

But she has her own look already – just SAIGE.

Isn’t she precious??


Sorry, couldn’t pick just one!

I love when David stops by for something or other and has a few kiddos with him that I then steal!

WHAT A PRIVILEGE!!

The boys got stolen one Saturday afternoon, and helped us freeze a case of bananas before they ran off with Tate and Eliza to play.

Blake and I returned them later that night – went in the house at the farm and wound everyone up right at bedtime like good grandparents do, ha, ha!


Sometimes we just have an afternoon and evening together because I cannot stand another minute apart.

THE BEST of the BEST!!


I had an idea.

Blake shakes his head at me a lot when I say that out loud!

It’s a good one though – so pay attention!!

Our big kids, including Lane, are enjoying a volleyball league on Friday nights right now.

That gave Blake and my date night two cute sidekicks, because there is no one home on Friday nights anymore to stay with Tate and Eliza.

Which is ok and is actually really fun!!

But Blake and I need time together – time alone too.

I got this idea that we could share date nights with Kayla and David!

I asked Kayla one afternoon and she messaged back “YES!!! I know I need to ask David, but he will say YES, mom!!”

And he did, smart man.

So one Friday night I head over to the farm with Tate and Eliza so David and Kayla (and Saigey girl!) can go out on a date!

Blake comes there too as soon as he gets off of work!

We put the grands to bed on time and hang out with Tate and Eliza until Kay’s get back.

When it is our turn to babysit, I also feed everyone dinner – I bring it from home!

We had our first date night swap a couple of weeks ago and IT WAS SO PERFECT!!!

We had the BEST time!!

It was such a beautiful night to be at the farm!


Tonight it will be our turn to date!

I will take Tate and Eliza over to Kay’s and meet Blake in town.

Then we will pick them up on our way back home.

Kayla will feed them dinner because it is her turn to babysit.

I CAN’T WAIT for tonight!!

We also have family day on Sundays to be together too.

Did I ever tell you that my mom and dad used to do this when we lived in Illinois?

They would cook a delicious Sunday evening meal and whoever was available would go there for dinner and ice cream!

I am so glad that this tradition has continued into the next generation!


I told you those kiddos are CUTE!!

I think I need to thank David and Kayla again for sharing them with us!

I will see you in just a few hours, my sweet grand babies!!

We will be spending five days together next week – I can’t wait to tell you about THAT!!

I love you to pieces Clyde Strength, Ellie Joy, River Salem, Briar Promise, Aspen Praise, and Saige Grace!!

You are a GIFT from God!!

Life With My Trio

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Life in my mid-fifties.

I either don’t have the personality to think way ahead to the future, or the brain space, but I really never thought much about what life would look like in this season we are in!

But I have to say, I couldn’t have imagined it better if I had.

The Lord has been so good and gracious to us by allowing our dream of a large family to come to fruition!!

I just wish He would have told me to nap more while I was young, ha, ha!!

My days are filled with sweet treasured relationships with the big kids – their phone calls, texts, and plans.

These days are filled with the blessing of grandchildren!!

They are also filled with church activities and committees.

They are filled with my girlfriends and I getting together now and again!

But mostly my days are filled with this trio of ours that are still at home full-time and still in school.

IT IS A SWEET SEASON, FRIENDS!!

How I enjoy these three youngest kiddos and our days together!

We have so much fun together!

They are great helpers to me in this busy life, and school would not have started on our normal timeline without their help this year.

We worked together to make it all happen – from rescheduling chores, choosing curriculum, choosing electives, setting up the schedule and moving everything around our home to be ready.

Thankful for this crew!!


Of course most of our time together is spent in school work for the biggest part of the year.

The Lord has been so very kind to me in this area, because all of our children have found school to be enjoyable and doable!

I know that is not always the norm!

God is also still giving me so much joy in teaching my children – and I have been at this a very long time!!

It is my favorite way to spend a day.


After school hours are over, we find all kinds of things to do with our time!

There are always chores to be done.

The children are VERY good at finding things to do on their own, but I keep them busy too as we work in the kitchen together and have places to be some days!

We enjoy a library visit, especially one that includes a bird sanctuary.

There are haircut appointments and other appointments – like Tate and Eliza’s medical check-ups.

Eliza did some dog sitting, which made a fun week here recently!

And of course we LOVE to be outside.


There are a few consistent things that split this cute trio of ours up – like Lane’s library job.

We are SO thankful for Lane’s job!!

I enjoy being with him on the Saturday mornings that he is scheduled for.


Another thing is Friday nights right now.

Friday nights mean volleyball for Lane with the big kids.

They love it and I love that they have that opportunity!!

That means that Blake and I have two adorable and fun sidekicks on Friday nights.

We usually try to find something fun to do together!

This certain Friday night we went to the local Co-op, got treats, and sat outside and played a game.

It was PERFECT!

There is a brand new twist to our Friday nights that I will tell you about in another post – and it is a GOOD ONE, so stay tuned!


What a wonderful mid-fifties for Blake and I, am I right??

These kiddos of ours are keeping us young!!

Ok, well, maybe, ha, ha.

I FEEL young anyway!!

Stay tuned for a great post about six very adorable grands!

They have a HUGE piece of my heart too!!!

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for allowing all these good things!!

I am in AWE of this thing called life!!!

Team Tate and Team Eliza Back to UW

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Last Tuesday, the day after our first day of school, Team Tate and Team Eliza headed back to UW Madison for what should be their last check-up of this year!

Blake and I were Tate and Eliza’s team that day, and Addie changed her day off of work so Lane would not be alone.

Siblings are currently not allowed in the hospital in Madison, so we could not take Lane with us!

We had two cute pups that we were watching last week, and Eliza came to find me that morning to tell me she had packed her backpack for the trip, ha, ha!

Nice try, sweet girl!


Our trip to Madison was uneventful and I wonder sometimes if our van could just get there all on its own because we go there so much!

Since Tate and Eliza’s first appointments started at 12:40 we gave ourselves enough time to grab some lunch before we headed to the hospital.

You know what it was, don’t you!!

Noodles, of course.


The first appointments that day were renal ultrasounds times two.

We call this “jelly on the belly” and Tate and Eliza have had this ultrasound many many times over the years since they have been home.

This checks on their bladders and their kidneys, which is important in children who have spina bifida.

We were asked to wear masks in the imaging area, but not anywhere else in the hospital.

Nope, I don’t get that either!


Next we headed upstairs to meet the new Urology NP.

The nurse practitioner that the children have seen since they arrived home from China retired this year.

The wait was not long at all!


We got checked in, which means the kiddos were weighed and measured.

We know Tate’s height and weight because he has had other appointments recently.

Eliza, not surprisingly really, is one half an inch away from 5 feet tall!!

Our leggy girl!


We met the new NP and LOVED her.

She showed us Tate and Eliza’s scans and she asked the kiddos some important questions.

Guess what?

All is STABLE!!

YAHOO!!

Next up was a quick stop at Costco were I was going to grab a few things and then saw THIS.


What in the world – why do I never know about things like this!!!!

That gave Blake and I the idea to make sure there wasn’t any other hidden gems there that day!

Which, of course, made our cart fuller than we intended, ha, ha!

But those truffles are PERFECTION my friends.


On our way out of town we stopped at a new favorite little coffee shop and barged right in to only learned that they were closed for the day.

Oops!

So we stopped at Kwik Trip instead to get Blake a coffee and the kiddos some lemonade.

Then it was time to head home!!


We arrived home around 5:30 to a delicious meal made by a beautiful daughter whom I cherish very much!!

It was an easy but long day!

Medical days just ARE that – even though there really was nothing to be worried about!

We could not be more thankful for the care our two precious Chinese cherubs receive at UW Madison Children’s Hospital.

Every single person we have dealt with there has been nothing short of absolutely wonderful!

It sure makes caring for the medical complexities of Tate and Eliza SO VERY EASY.

Praise the Lord with us!!!

Our Tate Owen and Eliza Claire are S T A B L E!!!!

And we do not have any appointments, Lord willing, until next summer!!!!

Thank you, Jesus, for all You have done!

First Day of School 2023

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Believe or not, school started for us here at Moschel Academy one week ago!

I have always started school the second Monday of August.

I had SO many reasons not to do that this year, but knew that the Lord would bless my efforts even in all the other busyness that was trying to take me away from this goal!

And He has.

Of course He has.

If you have been here awhile, you might remember that we have first day of school traditions!

We always have a special breakfast, see all the new school items for the year, and have school photos taken.

We added a new tradition this year – but not just for the first day of school – and it currently is my most favorite tradition EVER!

I asked Blake if he could stay home later in the mornings and long enough to eat breakfast with us from now on, and he said YES!!

Well, I have tears in my eyes just typing that.

Our special breakfast on the first day of school was bacon, scrambled eggs, and homemade English muffins.

I somehow slept through my alarm that morning – I know!!!

I still was able to be in God’s Word while the bacon cooked, so it was all good!

We had some furry visitors for the first week of school, and they did not know our meal time rules, ha, ha!


The children were SO excited about their new schedules.

I had also switched up all of their chores several weeks ago, and they have mastered them already.

I like to have the chore rotation and learning done before the first day of school.

I have chores too!

Mondays are my laundry day – but we all have laundry chores.


Our first day of school photos are another favorite tradition of ours!

How I enjoy looking back at how much the children have grown and changed.

Look at my line up this year!

Eliza Claire, 11 years old, 6th grade


Tate Owen, 12 years old, 6th grade


Lane Stevan, 15 years old, 10th grade

And just like that, our 2023-2024 school year began!!

These three are enthusiastic, diligent, full of initiative, and just a joy to be around!!


We are running with strong interests that Lane, Tate and Eliza each have, and it is a joy to watch them learn and grow in the areas that interest them!

Eliza is currently is all about animals.

Hence the goats and chickens in our backyard!

She also loves anything paper and pencils.

And of course she LOVES playing the piano.

She also is very athletic, and enjoys reading too.

Tate’s love has been, and continues to be the kitchen.

He and I enjoy working in the kitchen together, and I just praise the Lord that his love for cooking and baking is so easy to fulfill because we have a lot of bellies to feed here!

Tate also loves to read.

He devours books.

And he loves being with people.

Lane still is pushing toward a career in engineering.

He loves all things computer, and excels at computer aided designs, building robots, math, and science.

His mind is amazing!!

Lane loves to read, and he loves to eat, ha, ha!

He enjoys being outside as well.

Blake and I marvel in the children and how very different each one of them is.

Fearfully and wonderfully made by the Lord Himself!!

Here’s to our school year!!

For growth, learning, enjoyment, fellowship, and that we will finish in the spring looking back with no regrets!

Happy school year, everyone!!

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