Introducing…..Evie!

Posted on October 15, 2013 by dinahoverlien

Let me introduce you to the newest member of the family – Evie Sally Ann!!

Born on October 15th!

5 lbs. 13 oz.

18 1/2″ long

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

A Mom’s Toughest Job

Posted on October 2, 2013 by dinahoverlien

A mom’s toughest job isn’t…..

getting up in the night with a crying infant,

or keeping a teething baby comforted,

or being stuck in a house with sick toddlers,

or settling squabbles and getting everybody to share nicely.

A mom’s hardest task isn’t….

keeping up with the laundry,

or pulling off a fantastic birthday party.

or doing 6th grade math,

or instilling the value of a clean bedroom.

A mom’s most difficult choice isn’t….

which school to send the kids to,

or what clothes are appropriate,

or what time curfew is,

or which friends are a good influence.

A mom’s toughest job,

hardest task

and most difficult choice

letting go.

Here is wisdom for the moms and dads that time has proven true,
The day your children learn to walk, they start to walk away from you.
For at first you hold all of them, cradled safely in your arms,
Then one day their hand is all you hold, and soon it’s just their heart.

Can the sparrow ever learn to fly if the nest is all it knows?
Can the arrow ever reach its mark by remaining in the bow?
You have to let it go.

“Arrow and the Bow” by Steve Chapman

Smart Parents

Posted on September 24, 2013 by dinahoverlien

Brilliant!

I’m hoping the twinsies do a lot of this in the airplane:

One Little Decision

Posted on September 18, 2013 by dinahoverlien

Funny how one little decision can seem to throw off the universe…

My dear hubby, PB, decided to clean the garage instead of go fishing on his day off.

He decided to clear out all the old red plastic gas containers we had for Y2K…ummm….13 years ago.

He decided to smash them in order to fit them into a big garbage bag.

He decided to jump on a gas can with two feet…

which sent it shooting across the garage floor…

which sent him flying six feet into the air…

which caused him to land on the cement on his left shoulder.

He decided to call me.

I decided to take him to ER.

The doctor decided PB tore his rotator cuff.

We decided it’s a good thing PB isn’t a major league pitcher.

I decided I love him still.

But I kinda wish he had gone fishing.

A Ten-Turkey Sunday

Posted on September 9, 2013 by dinahoverlien

There aren’t many events that call for ten turkeys.

Even the biggest family gatherings at Thanksgiving or Christmas usually get by with one stuffed bird.

But Sunday wasn’t just any day.

Around these parts, Sunday was what we call “Rally Day”.

It’s the annual kick-off to the Sunday school year….

followed by a potluck, the likes of which Wesley himself would be proud.

PB grilled ten turkeys, with a little help from his friends.

Turkey #1, in prayer position.

Turkey #2. Soon to be a burnt offering.

Turkey #3, waiting in the wings. Heehee.

Shooting turkey #4 full of PB’s secret recipe marinade.

Oh yeah, baby. We stuff our birds with butter. #5

#6 getting poked before going to bed for the night.

#7, 8, 9, 10 – all tucked in and soaking up the savory goodness.

No parking – turkey heaven right there. Sizzling, smoky scrumptiousness.

Dig in, you blessed Methodists. Gobble up the goodness.

I sure hope there are potlucks in heaven.

Now tell me, how many pastors cook up dinner for their flock?

No pun intended.

Wait. Is a group of turkeys called a “flock”?

Anyway, a good time was had by all.

Thanks to all those who kept an eye on the birds while PB preached.

You missed a good sermon.

Thanks to all those who set up, ate up and cleaned up.

You are good souls.

Have we told you lately that we love ya?

“Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Luke 14:15

Acres of Glory

Posted on September 1, 2013 by dinahoverlien

Late summer is one of my favorite times of year.

The mornings and evenings start to cool down, but the days are still toasty.

Sunflowers are in their glory now, so I like to spread some of their cheer around the house.

I put a few on the mantle…

and a couple on the shelf.

I hang some on the wall….

and set one on the table.

Yes, sunflowers make me happy.

So imagine my joy when I happened onto this:

262

Acres of sunflowers!

As I was taking in the view, I thought, “Now…this is abundance.”

I could run into that field and lose myself in there.

I could stand among the stalks and be dwarfed by them.

I could reach up to the bloom and find tasty nourishment.

I could pick myself a handful every day and never run out.

Then I thought about my paltry plastic petals at home on my mantle.

Those fake flowers and imitation images seemed like a weak substitute…

after seeing acres of glory.

Hmmm….

My life as an authentic believer should have an abundance to it.

Faith is more that a plastic prop to put on display.

Belief is not piecing scraps of good deeds together.

The field of flowers taught me a good lesson.

I want to seek a deep and wide and long and high relationship with God —

not a drive-by appreciation, but a dive-in-and-get-lost-in-glory kind of thing.

I want to stand in His presence and be humbled by my smallness —

and be astounded by His greatness.

I want to reach up – stretch myself to know more, then dig deep —

and let the Seed of His Word sustain me and take root.

I want to be filled with the Spirit every day —

and never run out.

What would life be like if I committed to such a creed?

“I have come so that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

Eli’s Prayer

Posted on August 28, 2013 by dinahoverlien

Dear Lord,

please be with my Nonnie.

She misses us.

Amen.

Four Babies

Posted on August 14, 2013 by dinahoverlien

This morning my daughter Katie and I thought it would be nice to take a walk around our town square. We talked about packing up the kids, stopping at the coffee shop, and then strolling into a few of our favorite shops.

But there are four babies at our house. What were we thinking?

By the time Eli and Ella were fed and dressed, Hudson was getting up.

By the time Hudson was fed and dressed, Eli and Ella were falling asleep in their swings.

Then Charlie needed to nurse.

Somewhere in there, I changed three poopy diapers.

By mid-morning, Hudson was ready for a nap.

Then Eli and Ella woke up and I gave them each a bottle.

When Hudson got up (he didn’t really sleep), Charlie was nodding off in the swing.

Then Eli and Ella spit up, so I changed them into their second outfit of the day.

It wasn’t long before Hudson was hungry for lunch.

About then, Charlie woke up and just wanted to be held.

Eli rolled over onto his stomach and couldn’t get back over, so he cried.

Ella rolled over and smacked Eli, so he cried louder.

Then I changed some more diapers.

After lunch, Hudson really needed a nap because he didn’t actually sleep before.

Then Dan, Anna, Kelsey, Sam and PB walked in and played with the babies.

Katie and I took a nap.

Maybe we’ll try again tomorrow. Maybe not.

How many chances will I get to hold four babies in one morning?

An iced caramel vanilla latte topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup can’t compare.

Not even close.

Good Old Days

Posted on August 5, 2013 by dinahoverlien

When our four kids get together, their conversation eventually comes around to reminiscing about the bad good-old-days.

Like…

“Remember when mom dressed us in look-alike sailor outfits?”

Or…

“Remember when dad wouldn’t let me leave the supper table until I could spell the word c-h-i-c-k-e-n?”

Why, oh why, do they recall with such fondness the moments I would most like to forget? It’s amazing they turned out so well after being exposed to such limited parenting skills.

Funny how I remember very different things: reading books out loud all afternoon, singing songs in the car, staring at their eyelashes as they drifted off to sleep. Now, those were the good good-old-days.

Grandparenting is a chance to have a re-do.

I hereby vow to never dress my grands in matching outfits.

PB promises to refrain from drilling important words into their little minds.

Today, we get the chance to create great good-old-days. Let’s go!

First, we’ll squirt water into cups in the backyard.

Then we’ll go to the park….

and play in the water….

and the bubbling fountain.

Then we’ll have some lunch, but keep the McNuggets away from Opa.

We’ll read a book…

and have a tickle….

then take a nap.

It’ll be a great day.

Meet Charlie

Posted on July 27, 2013 by dinahoverlien

May I introduce you?

Everybody, meet Charlie.

Charlie, say “hi”!

He’s a honey.

How many times can one Nonnie fall in love?

Apparently over and over.

Although I’m here to help my daughter and her husband keep the household intact during this transition to a family of four, it’s clear that my main function is to be Hud Bud’s buddy. Today, I woke up extra early so I could jump in the shower and get my make up on before Hudson woke up. I sure didn’t want to scare the little guy.

We had a great morning. We played with toys, we tickled and laughed, we sang “Twinkle, Twinkle” dozens of times, and read the first page of ten different books. We went outside, picked up rocks, and tried not to get all wet in the sprinkler. I had a blast. By then it was 7:30 a.m. I could have kept it up for at least another couple of hours, but a trip to the farmer’s market sounded like fun, so we packed up the diaper bag and took off.