Shannon Yee

Time flies when you’re having fun. We must be having a lot of fun!

I think we really are, but we’re so busy it’s hard to be certain. School, church, sports (basketball for Josiah and gymnastics for Eila, plus exercising for me too), and home make up the routine of our days. We are trying to keep Sundays as our family day and play games, take a walk, or watch a movie together. Brian has been traveling for work about once a month, so that adds a little variety to the schedule. Eila’s gymnastics competitive season is in full swing and we are traveling at least a few weekends each month with her. In January, we went to Toledo and then on to Columbus to visit my family. It was so much fun for all of us – playing games with our cousins, shooting pumpkins, eating well, and just catching up with each other. At the beginning of February we enjoyed a long weekend in Chicago where Brian and I celebrated all of our special occasions for the year with a most delicious and fabulous meal at Moto. We also loved exploring the Museum of Science and Industry as well as doing a little shopping. One of the highlights of that trip was the stop we made on the way home to visit some dear friends. This weekend, Eila and I will take a girls’ trip to Holland; we’ll probably try to squeeze in a little shopping during our time away.

You won’t be surprised to hear that change can be good or bad. Well, I was ready and even excited for a change in my life. The shock of my new hair was really, well, shocking. My children were not fans of my new boy haircut and I wasn’t really sure how I liked seeing so much of my face – with the signs of aging that have somehow appeared just recently, because they weren’t there the last time I looked. That small change took some getting used to and now my kids actually like my hair and recognize me when I come to pick them up.

I usually love the new year and the promise of a fresh start. I feel the same about each new day. I often encourage myself by reminding my kids as I tuck them into bed that we get to start over fresh tomorrow. This new year has brought a few changes that are taking some getting used to, just like my hair. One of those changes, is actually not a change at all, but a return to our normal schedule. Unfortunately, some of us enjoyed our vacation a little too much… Another change is just temporary, but requires adjustments to be made, as Brian is traveling abroad and we all miss the head of the family.

While change has come, I know that more change will come. I am content with how things are and don’t really want any more change, but life is full of surprises – good or bad.

I sometimes get bored with the way things are and feel the need to spice it up a bit. I was feeling that way about our living room. My amazing husband, of course, agreed that it was in need of some updating, as did everyone else who saw it. So, we changed it and after a lot of money and energy spent, it looks great in my opinion. We haven’t really taken any pics that capture it well and our camera is sort of protesting taking pictures, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. Well, I am also feeling a bit bored with my personal appearance. So, I am now occasionally wearing make-up when the aforementioned husband is around. Also, I am going to cut my hair, which has been growing for the past few years. Every couple of years, I get it all chopped off and then when I get bored with short hair or tired of keeping up with the haircuts, I grow it out until the process repeats itself again. I’ll donate the long hair and hopefully enjoy the new look. I may even get some highlights. Changes are coming, exciting changes… for me anyway.

I imagined that when I had more than one child in school, things would slow down. I would be able to get so much done around the house and provide great meals for our family. I figured that with only one kid, we would be able to have fun and get our work done and also have time for naps or relaxing each day. I don’t know what I was thinking!

As I write this, I’ve just realized that I only have 5 hours of time between the dropping off and picking up times instead of the 8 that I imagined I had. This might explain some of why I’m not as productive and fun as I thought I’d be. In reality, after playing with Josiah until he has to leave for school, Thad and I usually get the grocery shopping done, have one fun outing (like the zoo or park), help out a school (go to a playdate for TJ) and make a few meals each week. Each afternoon, he naps while I work on Bible study or ESL lesson plans or connect with people or maybe do a bit of a house project. Then I wake him up to go get Eila and we go, go, go until bedtime. Each evening is different, but they are all the same too: eating, playing, working, talking, laughing, crying, cleaning, reading, sleeping.

Fall is here and I don’t want to miss it, but it is tricky taking time to enjoy and experience life as we live it. If you have any tips, please share!

The last weekend in June, we made lots of family memories as we went tent camping at Metamora-Hadley State Park and enjoyed the beach, campfires, nature walks, and uncomfortable sleeping. Our beach fun included swimming, building sand castles, canals, dams, etc. Eila and I also had a little handstand contest on the beach. As always, I like to win and gave a good effort despite the fact that Eila spends more time at gymnastics than I do cooking. After just a few rounds, I somehow, suddenly got going downhill too fast on my hands and fell face first into the sand. This wouldn’t be a big deal, except that I scraped off a decent bit of surface skin on my forehead, on my nose and above my lip as well as bruised my chin. Because the sand is such a great exfoliator, I needed several large bandages to stop the bleeding and am left with some gross scabs as my body works its new skin growing magic.

I started this list in early June, but am just now getting around to making it legible…

Here are some things we’ve already checked off the list:
Plant Garden
Pick Strawberries
Make Jam
Go Camping
Watch Race Cars
Play at Beach
Swim with Friends
Attend Car Show
Visit Rouge Factory Tour
Go to Carnival
Visit Zoo

Remaining Fun To Be Had:
Watch Fireworks
Go to MLB game
Attend Foster Care Info Meeting
Have a BBQ
Organize Storage Room
Host a Game Night
Watch Olympics
Visit Hands-On Museum
Hike at State Park
Ride Bikes
Visit Farm (for milk, produce &/or animals)
Work on House Projects
Play Tennis
Visit Titanic Exhibit
Go Putt-Putting
Visit Art Museum
Print Photo Books for Kids
Go Rollerskating
Tour Botanical Gardens
Pick Blueberries
Vacation without Kids!

It has been declared that today is Passive Voice Day. These simple joys aren’t being missed. Indeed, fun is being had by all (linguists and other grammar nerds).

This weekend, a few of my sisters and I met up in Chicago for a bit of shopping and eating. We did a manage to squeeze in a little time to talk and walk as well, but that’s about it. And, it was a blast. Shopping with my little sisters is so much fun and really the only time that have time to scour the sale racks or the energy to try on all the possible fabulous finds. I also love eating good food especially with great people and we did more than a little of that…

Getting to and from the windy city, I took the train and highly recommend it to anyone traveling alone. I had oodles of time to read, study, take notes, think, plan, dream in relative peace and quiet as the train chugged along. The monetary cost was very comparable to driving, but the benefits for a weary woman were priceless. Plus, it was fun for the kids to have an excuse to go to the real train station.

Josiah had such a good time with Daddy, he has asked me to return to Chicago next weekend as well. I just might.

Pain hurts. Seeing those you love in pain is itself painful, and it’s even worse when you cannot do anything to ease their pain. I don’t like to sit by and not help when help is needed. But sometimes there is nothing that I can do to help and even my prayers feel weak and wasted.

There are too many hurts in this world that I cannot fix and cannot help make better.

I know that God is big and mighty and good. I know that one day He will take away all the pain, but right now it hurts.

Sometimes I know we are doing too much and need to slow down. I know that we aren’t eating as well as we should and aren’t getting enough sleep and yet we just keep going and plod on as if all is fine. Until, we are forced to stop and stay home and relax. When all of us are struck together, we have no choice but to cuddle up, read lots of books, watch a few movies, take naps together and spend hours laying or sitting around playing, talking, singing, doing laundry. While relaxation is not bad, I would rather not be forced into anything and hope that I finally have learned to look at all the warning signs and take corrective action before it’s too late.