1/2 the summer in photos

One of the men at the farm was frustrated the other day when he realized that summer was half over. Once he brought it to my attention I was a little peeved myself but Jarod just looked at us and said, "Listen - this is what happens when you people plan stuff EVERY SECOND of EVERY day - let's just do nothing for a few days and summer will slow down."  Nice try Jarod.  That works about as well as asking the family to just "sit quietly and think for a moment."  Poor thing... life may be giving him an ulcer at this point.  But at least it is doing it quickly!! :)

Please Pray for Bianca... she has her CNA and now we are waiting on God, schools and government regulations to see what her next life step is.  We love her to death and just want what is best for her life.  Please pray for her this month!!!

So Brittany brought the guys each a HUGE green tea as a souvenir and you would have thought they had each gotten a million bucks (so - in case you ever wonder what to give the guys... anything extra large is appreciated.)

Had the Lowery garage sale and mostly my kids and other kids from the church went home with an abundance of items.

We had over 9 inches of rain last month.  CRAZY.  God is SO good to us.

Grandma came back from New Orleans.

Said goodbye to David and Kingson but not before a good lake trip and few tears.

So... we MAY have forgotten to pick a few radishes

The rain led to an epic mosquito infested - obstacle abounding big creek safari with Gramee and Grandpa.

And we went to get sheep...

And while we were there Randy did a little Demo work around the old Hett farm

Father's day proved to be the perfect time to perfect the marshmallow roast :)

And the visit from the Bernards convinced my kids that I only want OTHER children to have fun and them to work... good thing for them we have had house guests for the last 3 weeks!

Mac and Cheese and Mulberries are standard fare and Grammee's these days

After the mud slide and good mud swim is appropriate.  Including the loss of three pairs of shoes.

Monday picnics in the park are turning out to be a huge success.  With a gang of 19 children what can go wrong?? Right?

This is a happy picture in the basement with the "bean" - before things got crazy and Adrie almost lost an eye.

Thankfully nothing but an amazing adventure was had at the lake. 

 Really - that is miraculous EVERY single time.

And - these were $3.  I put them on everyone who comes in my house this summer... just because - more than anything right now I need a good belly laugh at least once a day.

Farmer's market is in full swing (in fact Randy is waiting there right now for me to bring him his Chocolate coffee... but don't worry I am sure he has found plenty of other people to talk to and treats to sample.)

The kids camped in the back yard... which of course ensured a 5:00 am rain storm and long cuddle on the couch while I made my coffee.

And the museum. No trip to Kansas is complete without it.

After dropping off the Bernards at the Denver airport Lucy and I spent a great day with cousin Wyatt and Betsy let me sleep in the guest room for 12 HOURS!!! THANK YOU.

Because the Arevalos came the next day.

Brittany is such a tooper when I say, "by the way - we are adding 7 extra kids to your day!" 

AWWW....... 

and... oh - honey - that is HIGH fashion there.

and apparently the classiness is genetic

Hotel 703 Fort which opened May 10 - just shut down after our 17th house guest left yesterday.

I think no one stayed through the 4th for fear that the hotel may have been in fire danger.

(this little guy narrated the whole evening in his own AWESOME little language that is part jibber/jabber  and all ENTHUSIASM!

I am the first to admit that the current Tippy life set up is NOT working out for the benefit of all involved.  But it is beautiful... anyway. That is called GRACE. And we receive more than our share every day.

Just need to say...

Growing older can be a true challenge. My grandma used to say, “growing old is the most difficult thing I have faced - I guess that is why God saved it for last.”  Another sweet woman I knew always said, “growing old is for the birds.. but I guess it is better than the alternative.” 

Over the past two years, I have had a front row waiting-room seat as some of the men have begun to deal with these aging challenges.  And today, I was once again floored at how astoundingly graceful each man is as they meet the difficulties that come their way.  To them, every doctor is their new best friend, every nurse is the most beautiful, and every hour spent in the waiting room is time to relax, catch up on some magazines and *gasp* actually chat with people around them.  There are literally NO complaints - of pain - of bills - of incompetence - or exhaustion.  They face each day practicality and with resolve.  Yes - there is pain. Yes - there is discomfort. And - no - they are not use to this limitation - this level of dependence. 

But I watch them and I realize that they, while the rest of us have been busy “accomplishing” our whole lives, have quietly been preparing to meet life’s last great challenges with grace that puts the rest of us to shame.  They have - their whole lives - adapted, adjusted and overcome. They are masters of humility, patience, perseverance, flexibility and kindness.  A few months ago I watched as Jay met with his surgeon for the last time and handed over a dozen fresh eggs and a pound of asparagus in gratitude and pride at the sense on their joint accomplishment. The surgeon was speechless and his face flushed with humility (and perhaps utter confusion). Today Carl, after patiently enduring difficult physical therapy, all the while asking heartfelt questions about the therapists family and favorite sports teams, quietly said “Thank you for that Dr - that was nice therapy.” And the therapist, in awe of how Carl has quickly learned to manage with a new “disability,” said, “Has anyone ever told you that you might be the nicest person on the planet?”

Yes. We have.  But not often enough.  So I just have to say.  I am so proud of these guys, they are the nicest people on the planet.  And the rest of us, if we have any hope of growing old with such grace, we better start now.  We better get off our phones. Get over ourselves. And become more like the guys.  Here are a few hints as I have watched these professionals begin the process and I am hoping if I start now, that someday I can ROCK the aging process like these guys!!!

1. Ask other patients and your medical professional about the weather and sports and family with genuine interest (Not sure if they learned this from mom of if she learned it from them).
2. Tell strangers about the best things in your life and the accomplishments of your day with a sense of genuine satisfaction.
3. Do what the medical people request. Even if it is just plain miserable.
4. Accept help - all the help you need. Ask for more help.  Then say “thank you.” Tell other people how thankful you are for the “good wonderful helpers you have.”
5. Don’t complain. If you are in true pain - everyone who cares and loves you can tell by the look on your face - and nobody else can do anything to help anyway. Also, if you do have to state your pain, a quite, “Oh - yes I hurt quite a little bit,” gets the point across.
6. Rest whenever you need too  - whenever you want to-  everyone who cares and loves you can tell by the look on your face that you need that - and that is what they want you to do too!!
7. Adjust.  Yes, maybe you have done it one way your whole life, but now you have to do it differently. That’s not easy, that takes time. There is no way around it.
8. And I think finally, the key that I have watched my whole life, but am only beginning to grasp, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself but simply thinking of yourself less.” Perhaps this is nearly impossible when your aching body screams at every move, but with a lifetime of practicing forgetting yourself, such humility breeds peace - for yourself and those around you. 

Onward into Summer

So, mom and I sat down yesterday to look at calendars for the summer and I am STOKED. To be honest - I haven’t used a calendar all year.  This has been the pinnacle of my messy existence and I am ready for it to come to an end. I am going to get organized and calm down. I don’t know how exactly that is going to happen.  

In fact, one of the most awesome employees we have ever had at Bethesda is leaving us in a month… and our guys just keep on getting older.  In the meantime - Jarod and dad just keep making bigger and bigger gardens and getting more trees. Students rotate - and we continue to make more global friends (just made my first Indian and Pakistani friends this last week and REALLY enjoyed that).  Kids are growing more involved and I hear from others that dreaded word of “busy” expands through the next dozen years. I can’t imagine “busier” - nor do I want to.  

In fact, Jarod has been speaking to me lately about the difference between “work” and “toil” and how one is God ordained and proceeded the curse and one is simply a futile exhaustion as result of the curse.  I have known for years that Jesus is “our Sabbath rest”  - but what does that mean?  What does that look like in our day to day - too-long-of-day lives?  Honestly, I don’t know.  But it has become one of the my great missions to find out. I have know people far “busier” than me who live life in fullness and grace and calmness… and I know people who do little and are constantly stressed out.  And then of course there is personality and seasons and age and support ranges.  

I think of Eccl. 3.  A time for EVERYTHING… and EVERYTHING in time.  How do I live in the appropriate time? Recently I heard my cousin describe our life (specifically life at Bethesda) as living in a MASH emergency zone… and it struck me with depth.  How do we live in the humorous chaos of this existence and avoid PTSD?  That feeling of constant striving?  The students who have graduated this year… and even some from before tell me they are struggling with depression and unbearable stress of their future purpose and great unknown.  And I tell them to rest in Jesus.  And we are honest enough for them to say, “To me - that is stupid!”  I get that.  Often to me it is stupid.  When a 2 minute run into the pharmacy results in a man with disabilities and a broken arm dizzy on Percocet missing in a 90 degree parking lot - the weight of responsibility sits heavy and rest alludes.  Two minutes.  This whole thing could fall apart in any 2 minutes. That thought induces PTSD. Inevitably ... without faith - without rest - without Jesus.  This is just me rambling… my thinking… about how to make this beautiful existence of ours sustainable... any thoughts are appreciated... what does rest and balance look like for you?

Cutting my hair felt good.

Jude is into his mess... but I'm hoping the heat gets to him :)

We are so proud of Salah's graduation and what a professional he has grown into - 

and of course we love all the cousins he brought our way :)

Here are some MBA's who obviously don't know how to handle children yet.  :)

Annie with her wonderful roommates!

Some of my favorite men.

Good bye to our dear sweet Vanessa... :(

So we held the graduation party at Bethesda this year.  This is all the graduates who were there... but only the ones who had lived with us got the honor of planting trees...

I laughed at Team Meeting when I saw how many people it takes to run Bethesda... and to think mom and dad did it alone for so many years.  What is this world coming to??

Goodbyes upstairs are always weepy...

But another BLAST at Bear Trap..

And then back home for a quality week with family from 4 different states...

(More of some of my favorite men)  

And finally - back home to impromptu outdoor BBQ's... all - summer - long :)