A Good Day

It's been a good day today....a day filled with all the sounds of my family, and to me, that's a good day!

Here are some of the things that I've heard today:

The rush of the shower as children got clean.

The cooing of a content, joyful baby as she claps, dances, and plays the piano.

The impromptu, beautifully soft singing of girls at the table listening to Steven Curtis Chapman. Earnest voices raised in song is quite pleasing.

The fresh, sweet sounds of little women playing a very elaborate game of dolls.

The bright ring of the phone announcing that Daddy was calling.

The deep, smooth murmur of Russell's voice as he read to Sofia in the other room.

The low, dulcet tones of my Sofia as she leans into me, cozy and snuggled, and tells me she loves me.

The trilling of the oven timer telling me the apple pies are done.

What did you hear today?

This IS The Right Blog!

Hey, My blog changed her "clothes"!

I just got a wild hair and decided to see if I could do some cleaning up and switching around on here.....

And, on Melissa's blog, over at A Familiar Path, she talked about doing things that scared her, and doing one thing every day that scared you.

Trying new things scares me to death.

And I did it!!!

I figured it out all by myself...And that's big doin's for this fraidy-cat girl!

How do you like it?

My Sunday So Far

This was on Renata's blog, and since I think Renata is totally charming and really like her, I thought I would inject some charm into my blog by copying, really stealing, her recent post!

Outside my window........It's a bit chilly, misty, a touch of fog this morning.

I am thankful for......I have to pick just one thing?? Okay, what's been on my heart for the past couple of days is that I am incredibly thankful for the health of my children.

From the schoolroom......nothing today. It's Sunday, and my husband has declared Sundays to be a day of rest around here.

From the kitchen.....I've got loads of canning to do. Pickles and more salsa. I have apples to peel and can. I need to make bread. Husband says I'm not canning or making bread today. What to do??

I am wearing......My black cotton skirt, the shirt I slept in, and my purple hoodie. Hair's in a bun. I need a shower!

I am creating......Right now, I'm thinking about making up folding cards to start off a new scripture memory program. The folding card will sit in the middle of the dining room table with the scripture on it that we're learning. It's a great idea. Also, I really want to finish Russell's scrapbook. And I recently adapted a brownie recipe, really totally changed it, and my husband, who would rather have anything else than brownies, pronounced the brownies the best he's ever eaten. Now that's kudos!

I am going.......Nowhere today. But next month we have a highly anticipated day trip to Seattle planned, as well as a day trip to a waterfront town across the river with my folks. And I'm going to be my mom's guest at the wedding of a gal who works for her. It's supposed to be really fancy, what to wear???

I am reading.......A few different things right now, according to my mood. I'm reading These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon for about the 5th time. I hear the Lord when I read Jan Karon. I used to keep a notebook and pen next to me when I read her, because so many things she wrote would touch my heart, and even after reading each of her books about 5 times each, they still speak to me. I'm also reading Sally Clarkson's The Mission of Motherhood. I keep a highlighter nearby with this one. I read it when my kids were younger and I thought that I wanted to read it again to see if I gleaned anything different than the first go-round. I highly recommend Sally Clarkson. And, last but not least, I'm reading The Pearls of Lutra from the Redwall Series by Brian Jaques. He's a great writer too, more for fun, and since my son wanted to read the Redwall series, and I like to preview all of the stuff my kids read, I'm reading the series too, but I'm behind!

I am hoping.......To be moved out to my folks's property by the end of next month. I'm hoping to sell some things on eBay, if we can just get them listed. That way we'll have a bit of spending money for our day trips next month. I'm hoping that my husband doesn't implode, with all of the cares and concerns on his shoulders right now. I pray daily that God would give him very broad and strong shoulders to handle it all.

I am hearing.......The tick of the clock above the fireplace. Hannah clearing her throat in her bed. Licorice (the black lab) barking out back. The fans whirring in the rooms. My refrigerator and the sounds it makes. Lucie just got up, and I'm hearing her yawn and her tiny squeals.

Around the house.......Most everyone's still abed, except Sofia, Sara, and Lucie. There's straight, gleaming lines of innumerable empty canning jars on my dining room table, along with leaves we collected yesterday at a really great park next to my mom's espresso stand up north. There's a brand new, not even opened yet, box of Crayolas on the chalkboard rack. The violin is sitting on the coffee table in the living room. Sofia's bundled up in her Ducky Blankie on the couch. Sara's holding Lucie for me while I finish this post......Yes, it does look like I neglect my baby in favor of posting!

One of my favorite things......Mornings like this. The fog is increasing and I'm bundled up in a blankie too!

A few plans for the rest of the day........None. I'm a bit panicked about this! What will I do?? We'll see....

A picture of one of these thoughts.......Sorry. I know ya'll think posts are so boring without photos. So do I. But I just spent forever going through the pictures on this laptop and I couldn't find one to enhance this post. Plus, I can't figure out how to stagger my pictures throughout my posts. They always end up at the top of my posts. I can't seem to get them anywhere else. So there isn't a photo for one of my thoughts.

Friday Fricasee....

Woah.

That's a gross and unusual title for this post!

Sorry for the radio silence lately. Our laptop is NOT doing well and my Husband spent like two days on the phone with Apple people to try and fix it. It's not totally fixed yet.....bear with me!

Today I thought I'd be random and just post whatever is on my mind. It's like me! I'm random like that.

I'm wearing my first Maxi dress. Zoiks! It's a long one and it has straps and a plunging neckline, but I'm wearing a nursing tank with it. It zips up the side and is shirred in the back. Very comfie, for a 92 degree day! It's orange, blue and white. Why yes, I do look like an oversized art deco painting! Thank you for noticing!

Lucie is 7 months old now. She is waking up between like 2:30 and 3:30 AM these days. I am still convinced that God is still God at that hour. Even after less than 4 hours of sleep. I think she's cutting more teeth. That's what happens when you even LOOK like you're bragging to anyone who will listen that your baby sleeps through the night! Note to self: Don't brag!!

Everyone here is really growing up and looking way older than the last time I looked at them. Especially Samantha. She'll be 11 in three months and she looks way older. I can see shades of the woman that each of my girls will become. Yes, I do need a Kleenex. Or a whole box. Thank you.

Russell is trying diligently to get off the paint that is on my scraper that I use in my kitchen for everything, but that he used to scrape the paint off of our kitchen cupboards after paint remover was applied to them. It isn't looking like the paint is going to come off. And the cupboards? Still off. Still sitting out in the garage. Yep.

Potluck at a local park this weekend with lots of people we haven't seen in years. We went to church with lots of these people years ago, and we thought it would be a good idea to get together. It should be lots of fun. Me and Russell are going out to sit at the site of said potluck from 8:30 am to 11 am, to ensure no marauders steal the spot! Should be fun.

I think we're going to go to Seattle for a day with the whole family to celebrate our 16th anniversary, which is coming up soon! I'm so. So. SOOOOO excited! I have a desire to go to Pike Place Market and just spend the time with my family!

My heart aches for my Janie today. Yes. Even after 5 years. And no, I guess one doesn't just "get over it" after a while. It's like having a quilt that is in disrepair and you go to the fabric store and get new fabric. Then you tear out that block that is ruined and sew the new fabric in. The fabric you chose is beautiful but you always remember what that other fabric looked like. You never forget that other fabric, but the new fabric in your quilt becomes soft and familiar after many washings. Janie is woven carefully into the fabric of my life. I will never forget.

I'm waiting for my lunch to get done. I can't wait! It's cod in a foil packet (en papillote) cooked in the oven. I hope it's good, cause I'm absolutely starving! Drinking a Big Train, in the meantime.

My dear MIL's sister asked me if I had seen the movie "Julie and Julia" yet, owing to my love of cooking, and I haven't. I rarely see movies because I just don't think there are any out there that are worth the money. I've never gone to a movie by myself. I'm thinking of going to this movie. Has anyone out there seen it, and do you recommend it??

Okay, is that enough for you? I could go on......I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Motherhood, For Better or Worse

I'm stealing the idea for this post from a couple of other gals whose blogs I really like reading. One of them lives in Minnesota, and one lives in Arkansas, and I'm sure neither one of them knows that little-ol'-me reads their blogs!

I've been a mom for almost 15 years. Wow. That's a long time doing something that I never, even in my wildest, most vivid, most lofty imaginings, ever thought I'd be doing. I want to let you all in on the things that are EASIER about motherhood than I thought they'd be, and the things that are HARDER about motherhood than I thought they'd be. Here goes:

The Easier things:

• Childbirth. Yeah, I said it, and I've never even had an epidural either! I'm too scared of the needle to get one. Without doubt or question, each and every one of my labors have been off-the-charts easy. Yet, I still fear labor and delivery, every time. I know, I'm mental. The labor and delivery part is easy-peasy. It's the aftermath that nearly kills me. I'm a bleeder. Near catastrophic bleeder. I almost died after I had Samantha, back in 1998. Yet I chose to do it again. After that near-catastrophy, Dr W made extensive notes on my chart, and we knew what to expect ever after that. So I never worried again about afterwards. It still stinks to lose nearly half of your blood in a matter of minutes though....But I'll do labor and delivery any time of day, any time God wants me to.

• Nursing. With the exception of the fiasco with trying to nurse Russell, nursing has been easy-breezy for me. And the reason I think this is is because I have prayed about nursing each time. I pray that it would go easy for me, and that Baby is born nursing well. This has been the case 6 out of 7 times for me. Hannah, my first born girl, was born trying desperately to shove her little paws in her mouth. She knew what to do from the get go. I feel incredibly blessed, and I do recognize how blessed I am with nursing. I'd love to help other mamas in that area some day.

• Having more than three kids. Having more than three kids has been soooo much easier than everyone thinks it is! The reason is that my husband and I have worked hard to try and train each child up to have discipline and a helpful nature. That is the key if you are going to have kids! And another reason it's easy to have more than three is because the first kids grow up and get older and put into practice all that we've taught them all these years!

• Living in a small house. Living in a small house with a very large family is lots easier than I ever thought it would be. I like our small quarters because it forces us to be creative and hardnosed about what we keep and where we keep it. We presently have 9 people, including two adults, one teenager, two pre-teens, and several young children, in a 1296 square foot space. All the girls sleep in one room, with the exception of Lucie, and she sleeps in our room in her crib. Russell has his own room. We love always knowing where each other is, and we love our cozy space. Though some well meaning individuals think we need a bigger house, and in theory, it sounds good, we would sure miss our small space!

• Homeschooling older kids. Homeschooling older kids is so much easier because they are self taught, and they actually want to help teach the younger kids! Even Hannah wants to get in on the teaching. I told my two older girls that they could pick two days a week which they wanted me to teach the younger girls, then they could teach the rest of the time. I think Samantha, girl number two, particularly likes it. Get your older kids in on teaching the younger ones! Give them a rough outline on what you'd like done, then let them go. You'll be pleasantly surprised at their resourcefulness and at the turn around they will make in other areas that were once maybe quite difficult as your older ones get a feeling of increased responsibility and importance.

Now, the things that are harder:

• Finding enough energy to meet the demands of each day. This is my eternal struggle. I never seem to have enough energy to keep up with my day. I have some physical issues that we aren't sure what they are yet, and just the sheer activity that goes on in this house day to day, truthfully, I have not the faintest, foggiest, slightest notion of how I've been able to keep up! Oh. Wait. Yes I do! I know How! It's Jesus Christ, and the utter faithfulness of my Father, which gets me through. He is my strength. He is my reason for doing what I do. He is everything to me. Praise You, Father!

• Having a Boy. There. I said it. I absolutely adore my Boy. He is above and beyond, without question, one of the most fabulous young men I know. But he's, well, he's a B O Y. Are you following me here?? I'm not sure how to DO a boy. But praise God, I have his dad to lean on. My boy is not hard, by any stretch of the imagination. He is just different than me. Different personality. Different make up. With the wisdom from God, I'm learning how to parent a Boy Teenager.

• Having this much love in my heart. It sounds weird, but I kid you not, some days, my heart is so full that it nearly bursts. I am an intensely emotive person, and I have such deep feelings for these kids! Nobody told me it was going to be like this. It's both good and bad. I sometimes cry over silly stuff, and the fact that they're growing up way too fast for me is almost my undoing. I am having a hard time letting go and letting them experience things. I have never. EVER. Experienced feelings like this. And they just get stronger with every baby that God gives us. God is all wise and He knew that I needed to be a mama, even if I didn't know. He is my Help, and my soother.
  

That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure that's enough!! I'd like to read your better-and-worse posts!

Sunday Thoughts

~~Silly girls. Kellie, 6 and Sofia, 3 act like themselves.

~~I'm waiting for everyone to get up and grace me with their presence.

~~ It's Sunday and Daddy's HOME! I don't have to wake him up this morning. He needs to catch up on his sleep and Sundays is the day he does it.

~~Read Balancing The Sword last night while we were eating. It was a good discussion of manna and trust.

~~Watched the Walton's last night after Bible time. Mama was nodding off and it was only 9 pm!

~~Lucie fell asleep on Daddy last night during family time. So cute.

~~Craving peaches and whipped cream right now.....weird.

~~Going to my folks' place tomorrow. Dave's off and we have lots of work to do to be able to move in this fall.

~~Going to try a new leave in hair conditioner. My hair can get dry and frizzy. Hope it helps. It's called Aussie Leave in and you spray it in and leave it.

~~I have things to list on eBay but every time I try to find the pics on Dave's Mac, I can't find them! Nothing is labeled very well on there, and I don't know if they're on the laptop......

~~I really want to have a more interesting blog, but as I said in the above sentence, I can't find any pictures to post! It's a confused jumble to me and I always have to go through hundreds of meaningless pictures to get to the ones I want.

~~I started taking iron supplements again yesterday. Ferrous Gluconate. I have very, very poor, very weak blood due to an iron storage problem. I think it's already helping!

~~We have a small pumpkin patch out below our front window, and Sofia, who's 3, came in the other day and said "Mama, dose punkpins are cute and soft". Couldn't have said it any better myself!

Words on Wednesday

I'm meditating today on poverty.....

The poverty-stricken soul.

Let me explain what this group of words mean to me.

I read this morning, in my devotional time, about the poor in spirit whom Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. My mind and spirit were opened up and I was enlightened to think on this concept in a new, fresh way. And so, I wanted to share with you who read my blog, for this is really the core reason why I blog.

I always thought that Jesus was addressing those who were poor in material possessions in this verse. I thought that those who were poor and needy Christians would receive the Kingdom of Heaven by virtue of their simple, utilitarian lifestyles, because, doesn't it make sense that, if you have less materially, as a Christian, then isn't it easier to be used by God? So went my immature, rather unenlightened reasoning....

Until the Lord caused my eyes to be opened to some truths that He wanted to show me.

Yes, the Lord was talking about the poor, but what did the word "poor" really mean? I wanted to know, so I went on a search.

I looked up Matthew 5:3 in my favorite online concordance and searched out the word "poor". What I found flummoxed me.

The word "poor" in the Greek language is "ptochos". These are the definitions for the word that my concordance gave:

1) reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms. 2) lowly, afflicted, destitute of the Christian virtues and eternal riches. 3) helpless, powerless to accomplish an end. 4) poor, needy. 5) lacking in everything as respects the spirit....

Helpless, powerless to accomplish an end.

"Poor" comes from the word "ptosso", which means "to crouch".

When I found out where the word "poor" came from, this verse made more sense to me than it ever has before.

To crouch. This brings to my mind an image of a beggar, hunkered down, hunched, dirty, bedraggled, at the end of himself as he crouches at the gates. Utterly forsaken by those around him, with nowhere else to go and completely out of options.

We must first recognize the utter poverty of our own souls before we can have any kind of true relationship with Him. We must first become like this beggar, because it is the poverty-stricken soul that comes crouching, hobbling, to the Gates of Heaven that is the soul most willing, most able, to be molded and shaped and used. It is this kind of soul that Jesus wishes for us to have.

Jesus Christ Himself tells us, in Luke 18:25, that indeed it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into Heaven. I know this verse speaks of the rich young ruler who had all he could ever want or desire materially, but to me, this verse speaks of a soul which has grown fat, lazy and lackadaisical.

And so, I pray that my soul would never grow like the rich young ruler who went away from Jesus that day sad and very troubled in his spirit! May we all be like the beggar, soiled, disarranged, out of order, running broken to Jesus, so that He can clean, arrange, and put into His order our souls.

Copyright 2009 by leeswords. Please do not reproduce these or any other copyrighted material from leeswords in any form or fashion without first obtaining permission from the author. Thank you.