Friesen Talk

So, it turns out Chloe also needed a baby picture for the Senior slide show. I struggled with my Type A personality and wanting to be true to the word “baby” but also wanting the pictures to actually look more like her. Chloe and I looked through quite a few pictures and she had strong feelings about which pictures she thought she was cute enough to share. (The really young pictures she is so chubby, she doesn’t look much like herself now).

This was the one she liked best for the slide show: (Gah! Remember the cast?!)

I wanted one where she was smiling more, but she really liked this one. And, I guess, since it is for HER… I should let her pick. Hehe!

But this was MY favorite of the bunch:

Chloe is in 11th Grade.

However she is in the 12th Grade class in youth group. It’s a long story, but basically she was put with the girls she knew when she first entered youth group which seemed like no big deal at the time… but now she’s doing all the “Senior” stuff with her group even though she’s not graduating this year.

Which led us to a snag this week. They needed a Senior picture for a slideshow, which everyone else should theoretically have since they would have already taken their photos. However Chloe hasn’t yet!

So… today we did a little mini session and here was our favorite.

I gave up writing here for a long time. I guess I just couldn’t handle the stress that I would say something wrong and that people would judge me or be mad at me… which left me second guessing everything I would write. I don’t handle conflict well. I don’t like tension. I want everyone get get along and no one to rock the boat.

Ever.

But that’s not the world we live in.

So, I guess I’ll just try and be truthful but kind. And I’ll try to not get hung up if people disagree with me. And I’ll just continue being me and writing whatever I want.

Or, at least I’ll try.

Elliptical, oh elliptical, you have served us, very well,

But today is the day we have to say, our fond farewell.

~

Auntie Jen gifted you to us, many years ago

in hopes of letting me exercise without hurting my heels or toes.

~

You saw us through the hard times of online and Covid-crazy,

When Chloe, Josiah and I were able to run, so we didn’t get lazy.

~

Josiah really loved running on you, so screen time he could earn

to watch Super Mario Bros. shows, to which his heart does yearn.

~

I loved the time away from kids, where I could quickly jog

and enjoy a show about organizing, baking, or eggnog.

~

So, thanks for being there, all winter season long.

Tomorrow I’ll be sad, that our fine machine is gone.

😉

Well, I thought I was on a roll with posting again… and I even had a great game plan of writing using a different letter of the alphabet… and then I got derailed at the letter “D.” Good golly, I sure didn’t make it very far, did I?

D proved to be a tricky letter for me. I started a post about how I’m loving DESIGN more lately and how I’m using Microsoft Publisher more. I really love the flexibility that it gives me and how I can keep a bunch of stuff on the clipboard in my project that doesn’t actually show up on my created document. I also love how I can easily overlap different pictures and words. Apparently I should have been using Publisher a long time ago. I’ve been making Microsoft Word do all of those things, but it took me SO much more work to get it the way I wanted.

I also thought about writing about DATES and how Tim and I are starting to go on Friday night dates again. This year I adjusted my schedule so I’m done teaching at 6:00 on Friday nights, which opens up being able to schedule that time in with him. Even though we see a lot of each other in his off season, I’m not always great about making time for him specifically, so I’m excited about this window of time. Plus Chloe has been more willing to babysit than she was a year ago, so that’s great.

And finally, I also thought about writing about DEMONS and how they have become a regular conversation at our house. This was a particularly hard one for me, but I really felt the urge to write about this. I am generally careful to avoid writing about heavy topics or controversial topics. However… we are fighting an unseen battle that rages all around us, all the time. I used to be scared of talking about it and avoided conversations about it–until we were forced into the topic this past year. Chloe has had to deal with real demons in her life and we all had to rally with her to help her fight. The devil does not play fair. He never has and he never will. And while I think that kids should be off limits, he doesn’t see things that way. I have cried more tears over the past year than I ever have–and so many angry tears over how I wish I could fight the battle for her. I’m older. I’m stronger. I should be able to fight for her. But I can’t. She has fought and grown and pushed through in ways I cannot even fathom doing when I 14 years old. I am so proud of her. Someday God is going to use her for something big.

Last Friday night Chloe hosted her first ever friends sleepover with her D-group (which is her discussion group in youth group). There are 7 girls total in the group, and 4 were able to come. Not a huge turnout, but it’s hard to arrange 7 girls schedules! They had fun staying up most of the night and eating junk food and talking and doing all the fun teenage girl things.

It’s so much fun to see Chloe blossoming in social situations. Last year was very dark and hard and she didn’t have any of these experiences. I am so thankful for the youth group she is a part of and the community of girls that she has around her. Oh, and her leaders! I’m super thankful for them too.

She’s been able to go on 2 retreats this year–Fall retreat for 5 days and then Winter retreat for 3 days. It’s so amazing to hear all about how she’s growing and becoming more sure of herself after each trip. Her D-group leader was able to go along on both trips and I really like her–we’ve had a few nice LONG conversations about some heavy topics and I am thankful to have her in Chloe’s life.

She’s also really enjoying being homeschooled this year. We pulled her out of public school in October and we are very pleased with our decision. She’s doing phenomenally better mentally–which was a big hurdle. Plus my fear of her missing out on being social (since she wouldn’t be seeing kids her age every day) is gone. She has more friends now than she’s ever had.

I am so thankful for the people God put into my life at the right time to help me through navigating moving to homeschool. It seemed so daunting but now that I’m here, it’s really not as hard as I thought it would be.

Here is a picture I snapped on our first day of BSF together. She’s in the school aged program (she was able to join right after Christmas).

I love breakfast.

I love everything about it. I love the smells and all the variety of delicious foods and the cozy feeling of eating all the yummy food with a hot cup of coffee in the morning. I could really eat breakfast foods for every meal of the day. But I don’t. Because, let’s face it, it doesn’t really scream “well-balanced diet!”

However, I also know that I love breakfast. And that it can be my absolute downfall to eating right… all those delicious pastries & donuts & French toast & orange juice & waffles and syrup…. yum! So I’ve convinced myself that I ALSO really love plain oatmeal cooked with a handful of blueberries or for a special treat, frozen cherries with pecans.

So, that’s how I start my day. Every day. Ok, almost every day. It’s a great way to fuel my body and not be sugared up or on a path of eating whatever I want for the rest of the day. That’s dangerous for me.

This week was extra special–I got to meet Stacy for a Belated Birthday breakfast and we enjoyed some great food and fellowship! And now that you know how much I love breakfast foods you know how fun this was! 😉

P.S. my second go-to breakfast is scrambled eggs with sautéed onions and peppers with a slice of ham diced up.

I have decided that I’m going to write a post with one word at the title, starting with each letter of the alphabet. I have no idea how this will go, but I love having a plan, so there it is!

I’ve had a few “plans” over the years with this blog: Wordless Wednesday, 13 Thin thoughts, Food Friday… I seem to have a fondness for word alliterations! I just love how they roll off the tongue.

In other news: We had to buy a new section of our sectional this week. The old part was peeling badly on the back and sunk down way too much when you sat down. Although we really wish it had a longer run, we’re overall pleased how it’s held together. We have a lot of people coming and going and the couch seems to be a common place for everyone to come, so it’s had a lot of wear and tear. Plus it’s where the rest of the family primarily hangs out every evening when I’m teaching.

Getting it into the basement was a bit of a struggle. It DOES fit, but just barely. And since our basement staircase goes straight down there’s really no good way to turn the couch when you get down to the bottom. So, after removing the door trim and casing and the railing and squishing it through the doorway and pivoting it over the railing at the bottom of the steps and squishing it again while scraping against the ceiling as we lifted it over the last part, it has finally made it into its new home. 😀

We actually joked after the struggle of getting the couch down the FIRST time that we would have to simply leave that couch there until we sold the house since it was such a struggle to get it down. Ha! I guess, where there is a will, there is a way!

Since January 1st I’ve been on a mission to drink over 100 ounces of water every day. In case you aren’t aware, that’s a lot of water. Ha!

But it’s crazy to me how much I want to drink water now that I’ve been doing it for a month. I love how it helps my digestion and helps me feel more full and has cleared up by complexion. I even had someone comment on how “radiant” I looked after the first week. And the only real thing that had changed at that time was drinking more water, so that’s a true testament to it helping!

All of this was helped because of my new cup I got for Christmas from one of my students. It’s so fun. I love getting gifts and this was an added bonus for being so practical.

See?! So pretty!

It was track and field day today. We were all very excited about this–since they weren’t able to do them for the last 2 years–making this Maddie’s very first track and field day!

It was a pretty awesome day for everyone. Maddie won her hula hoop event. I recorded it (not knowing that she would win, of course) and I’m so glad I did. She’s the one closest to us in the rainbow skirt. I’m sorry I didn’t think to zoom in closer. You’ll have to really focus to see her. Be sure to have the sound on!