paying for my raising

trying something new

2012-01-27T13:51:00.000-06:00

I have been reading reviews of homeschool products on other blogs for a long time and since I love trying new things with my kids, I thought that it would be something I'd be interested in doing, as well. Now, I have my first opportunity to do just that.

I've been given a premium membership to VocabularySpellingCity.com for a candid, personal, online review.

VocabularySpellingCity.com helps students study word lists using 25 different learning activities such as MatchIt Sentences, HangMan, and Word-O-Rama. Parents can create their own spelling lists, find published lists already available on the site, or use any of dozens of free teaching resources on topics such as analogies and compound words. Be sure to come back in three weeks to read about my experience.

There might be more free memberships available for bloggers. If you're interested, find out how you can review VocabularySpellingCity.com.

just you wait

2012-01-24T21:32:00.001-06:00

I have now been a parent for twelve years, 4 months, and 7 days (not counting the 9 months prior to her birth) and this is what I have learned so far:

I don't know anything.

That being said, I hope you keep reading anyway ...

Parenting is a waiting game. When you are expecting that first little bundle of joy, well-meaning people begin to tell you things like, "you had better be sleeping now ~~since you will never sleep again~~ before the middle of the night feedings begin" and "I hope you are ready for your whole life to change" and other such helpful comments.

And just when you have survived the sleep deprivation, people start warning you about the next stages that are coming ... "just you wait until: they start teething, the terrible twos, potty training, etc."

Well, here I am, 12 years and 3 children later and I stand on the edge of the most dreaded "just wait" of them all. In just under 8 months, I will be the parent of a teen-aged girl. And while I am not willing to accept that I will be miserable for the next 7 years of her life just because the word teen comes at the end of her age, I think I have had a glimpse of what is to come and here is how I see it.

My daughter has developed multiple personalities.

Sometimes she is still the little girl of my memories ...

and sometimes she is transformed into a young lady right before my eyes.

Unfornately, every now and then she becomes someone I don't know and that I hope I never meet again. Please don't get me wrong, I am not criticizing her. She is simply a child trying to figure out how to become an adult and the process isn't always pretty. The real problem is in my lack of confidence in my own ability to help her navigate these waters in such a way that the sweet, kind-hearted little girl grows into the beautiful young lady I know she can be.

Of course all this brings me right back to the beginning ... I don't know anything now and, since my mother can't really tell me how she managed to survive four sets of teen-age years, maybe I never will.

But, even if I don't ever have any idea how to be the parent I am supposed to be and even if this little girl turning into a young lady drives me crazy in the process, I am just going to try to hold on to the moments like these and remember how smart my Mama got about the time I reached my twenties ...

moms ... read this with your daughters

2012-01-23T16:48:00.001-06:00

I had no idea what to expect when I received the book Fierce Beauty by Kim Meeder, but I can tell you that by the end of the book, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book and what I have taken away from it.

In a world where young girls are taught that how they look is everything, they need to hear that "true beauty is not about how you look but how you live." And that is exactly what this book does, using simple, easy to read stories, the author leads the reader to consider how she views her own self worth, through the eyes of the world or through the eyes of the Savior?

Each chapter in Fierce Beauty tells a different story from the life of the author and her friends, some people and some animals. She uses these stories to point the reader to a deeper understanding of the disconnect between true beauty and worldly beauty. Even more importantly, she uses these stories to convey the truth of the source of real beauty.

"Do you wish to be beautiful...? It's not so difficult. Authentic beauty is not based on what we're wearing or how we look. It flows out of our hearts and is a form of worship of our King. This beauty grows when we open our eyes to the hurting souls around us -- our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, our husbands, our children -- and ask, 'What can I do today to show them the love of Jesus?' The simplest act, even a kind word, is the first step toward a radiant beauty that will endear us in the eyes of the One who matters most."

I would recommend this book especially for mothers of young girls to read with their daughters and for older teens or young adults to read on their own. We cannot ignore the importance of giving our daughters a godly understanding of who they are and what it is that makes them beautiful, and I think this book could be a useful tool in doing just that.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange this honest review.

daybook 2012 ... already a week behind

2012-01-10T17:45:00.003-06:00

FOR TODAY

January 10, 2012

Outside my window...

It is cloudy, rainy ... just plain dreary,

and way too warm for January!

I am thinking...

about letting the kids watch a little "living history" today

(the governor's inauguration)

...which we did and I am glad ...
I am proud of our state at this moment.

The ceremony today looked almost like a church service and even though I am not naive about politics, I think that what was said today sets a good tone for the new governor and his administration.

I am thankful...

for LB's new attitude and diligence when it comes to school work!

In the kitchen...

there are dishes that need to be washed and
a floor that needs to be swept.

I am planning to try a couple of new recipes for supper tonight ...
one I came up with myself and one I found on Pinterest.

I am wearing...

the usual ... sweats and a t-shirt

I am creating...

not much at the moment,

I am still working on a granny-square baby blanket that I hope to enter in the fair this year.

I am going...

to get thread to sew the ribbons on LB's new pointe shoes and I think that is it!

I am wondering...

if LB is really going to like taking pointe (otherwise known as toe) dancing.

I am reading...

The Essential One-Hundred Bible Reading Plan

... our pastor has challenged the church to complete these readings together and our family is trying to keep up!

I am hoping...

for a little more winter!

I am looking forward to...

taking the kids to our monthly book report day tomorrow.

Of course, to be honest, I am looking forward to the adult conversation!

I am learning...

just how little I really know.

Around the house...

I have a long list of things that I want to get done this year, but on the top of that list is getting the kids' rooms painted and getting new beds for all three.

A favorite quote for today...

I may not know about tomorrow, but I know who holds my hand

from this song:

One of my favorite things...

singing along with cd's and my family in the car

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Book-It! tomorrow and then maybe some shopping with my Mama, after that, I have no idea!

Want to visit other daybooks? Take a moment to check out
The Simple Woman's Daybook.

garbage in, garbage out

2012-01-02T16:19:00.000-06:00

Alternately titled ...

I feel so old

I think I was born in the wrong century,

I am not a cool mom

... sigh.

This post could relate to the title of my blog, since my parents had absolutely no interest in being like those parents who tried to be great friends with their children by allowing them to do things that they probably shouldn't have, the only difference being that they (by Mama's own admission) didn't worry about how their decisions would make us feel. They did what they felt was best for us and that was the end of it.

At the moment I am typing this, Ronnie and LB are returning a popular Wii dance game that Ronnie's mom gave LB for Christmas. I knew when she got it that this might have to happen, and we warned LB that if we didn't feel that the content was appropriate then we wouldn't keep the game. So, today I finally took the time to look up some of the music on You Tube, just to see what it was. Let me just say that I was embarrassed by the lyrics and videos of the songs on this game. I know that the videos aren't actually shown on the game, but it is my understanding that the lyrics are and I couldn't believe that any parent would actually allow their child to listen to this garbage.

As a disclaimer, let me say that this was the latest version of this game and that I have been told that the earlier versions aren't as bad and as my children pointed out, you could just play the songs that aren't bad and don't listen to the ones that are. But, I couldn't do this with this game...one song (California Gurls) was by Katy Perry and some rapper and if that were the only bad song on the whole game, I still couldn't risk my children being exposed to those lyrics. I hope I am not stepping on any toes here, I know that every parent makes the choices that they feel are best for their children and I know that not everyone agrees with how much I shelter my children, and that is okay, but it doesn't change the fact that Ronnie and I are responsible for every thing that goes into the minds and hearts of our children.

Interestingly, not long after I finished my little foray into pop music via youtube, I saw the following link on facebook...let me warn you that this article contains some of the less graphic, but still disturbing, lyrics from the Katy Perry song mentioned above. The article seemed to be a timely confirmation of the decision Ronnie and I made today.

Profanity and Pop Music

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8

celebrate the gift

2011-12-25T08:41:00.000-06:00

Merry

Christmas!

And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day

in the city of David a Saviour,

which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you;

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in

swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel

a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,

and saying, Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:10-14

since I can't seem to get a real post done ...

2011-12-20T16:19:00.000-06:00

...here are a couple of my favorite Christmas songs, just so you'll know that I haven't fallen off of the blogging planet!

Sorry, Amy, I still like the Kenny Rogers/Wynona version best!

And, just for fun...

daybook ... I can't believe it is December!

2011-12-06T12:31:00.003-06:00

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...

It is gray and dreary ... yesterday's rain brought much colder temps, but that just makes the warmth of the house even better!

I am thinking...

about my friend Alicia who is in Arizona at the Mayo clinic for tests, and I am praying that all goes well and that she will come home with some answers.

I am thankful...

for the wonderful home schooling families that God has put in my life and the way that they invest themselves in my life and my children's lives.

From the learning rooms...

plugging away at the regular stuff.

I'd love to do a Christmas unit study, but I'm not sure if I'll get it done.

In the kitchen...

I'm working on a "snack supper" menu for tonight ...

a little something special while we decorate for Christmas.

I am wearing...

clothes!

(stolen from my friend Donna ... not the clothes, just the quote)

I am creating...

special plans for this Christmas. Mama won't have to have any more chemo until after the 1st of the year and I want to take full advantage of her time off.

I'm also working on a few special crocheted items as Christmas surprises ... one especially for LB that I am very excited about!

I am going...

shopping with Mama and my sister-in-law, Stacy.

I am wondering...

how long I should let the boys fight it out up front before I go intervene ... perhaps boxing gloves would be the best Christmas gifts for them.

I am reading...

Fierce Beauty by Kim Meeder

I am hoping...

that I bought Christmas Cards at the end of last year
and that I can find them!

I am looking forward to...

a fun, family night tonight,
shopping with Mama and Stacy later this week,
our city's Christmas parade on Saturday ...
LB has to dress up as a gift :)

I am hearing...

not too much right now since I took a break and stopped the fighting, then got the kids going on their school work.

Around the house...

I need to put a few finishing touches on the cleaning so that we will be ready to decorate tonight.

I am pondering...

the message of David Platt's book Radical, which I have just finished reading. The subtitle of this book is "Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" ... that in and of itself is thought provoking and let me tell you, this book has challenged me to consider what I believe to be my role in missions.

One of my favorite things...

finishing a project.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

I think I've covered this already!

Here is a picture I am sharing...

actually, I am sharing several pictures from our trip to Atlanta ... please note that there are actually 2 pics of me in these ... I don't think I've ever done that before!

On the train at Stone Mountain

At my favorite place we visited ... Centennial Olympic Park
in the Olympic Rings fountain

The best way to get a picture of all my kids ... take it when they aren't looking!

Don't forget to visit Peggy over at the Simple Woman's Daybook!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

daybook

2011-11-29T10:57:00.000-06:00

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...

the sun has come out, though it is still cold and damp

the dog is looking in the window and whining

I am thinking...

about plans for Christmas

I am thankful...

for the time away last week and

for the time working with OCC

From the learning rooms...

the kids are begging to play our new Rummikub game

and I am thinking I may give in ...

after all, it does involve using their math skills!

From the kitchen...

we spent so much time eating out over the last week,

I am ready for a home-cooked meal!

Actually, I am ready for a LOT of home-cooked meals in a row.

Tonight, I will start with meat loaf, baked sweet potatoes, and probably green beans.

I am wearing...

plaid lounge pants and an old t-shirt

I am creating...

crocheted dish rags for Christmas gifts

I am going...

to Sam's sometime today

I am wondering...

how Mama's doctor's appointment went this morning

I am reading...

Radical by David Platt and

Fierce Beauty by Kim Meeder

I am looking forward to...

being at home for awhile

I am hearing...

the kids talking, D's light sabre humming

Around the house...

getting ready to decorate for Christmas

I am pondering...

some changes I know I need to make

One of my favorite things...

walking into a store and smelling "Christmas"

A few plans for the rest of the week:

mostly school ... maybe a trip to the library ...

not much else if I can help it

Here is picture I am sharing...

cartons of shoe boxes loaded and ready to go to Atlanta

I'm linking up to the Simple Woman's Daybook if you would like to join in the daybook fun!

not your traditional turkey day

2011-11-26T00:25:00.000-06:00

I love tradition. That said, I don't mind breaking with tradition once in a while, and we most definitely did just that this Thanksgiving.

Not my Mama's Thanksgiving dinner ...

Since we had no way to cook dinner here in our hotel, we decided to head down to the nearest Cracker Barrel for lunch. They had a special dinner for the day ... turkey, ham, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin streusel pie. Let's just say that the turkey and ham were great. Remember how I said that I love tradition? Well, one tradition I missed was my Mama's cornbread dressing ... moist and lightly seasoned with lots of chicken cooked in and most importantly ... absolutely no sage! Everything was okay, but it just made me miss being at home cooking with Mama and watching (or listening to) the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while we work. Of course, that was the Thanksgiving of my childhood and it hasn't been like that in a long time.

A birthday he won't soon forget ...

Besides celebrating Thanksgiving, we also celebrated JW's 10th birthday. It was an unusual birthday, but I don't think he minded. After lunch, we went to Stone Mountain Park. I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out to be a fun day. The Polar Express 4-D experience was quite interesting. I didn't know what the whole 4-D thing was about and I am not sure that I would want to watch an entire movie with water blowing in my face and foam snow falling from the ceiling, etc ... but the movie was pretty cool. I think that the only thing that the kids didn't like was that it was only a 12 minute version on the movie. While at the park, we also rode the train twice, played mini-golf, watched the Christmas parade and the fireworks show, ate supper, and even did a little shopping, which included buying myself a snowman ornament. :o)

If I had any question about whether or not JW enjoyed his birthday, they were put to rest as I listened to him talking to my Mama on the phone as we drove back to the hotel. He was talking 90 to nothing and fairly bubbling with excitement as he told his Grandmother about his day. It was sweet to hear how much he enjoyed the day, even though it wasn't all about him.

Why I don't do the whole black Friday thing ...

As we drove back to our hotel, tired from our long day, we passed several Wal-mart stores with their parking lots overflowing. I was reminded of how glad I was to be headed to my comfortable room with a nice bed and no one pushing and shoving and such. I know that there are some people who thrive on the excitement of getting the great deals and the whole shop 'til you drop concept, but I am NOT one of those people. I don't even bother to look at the sale papers to see what I am missing. I am happy for those who think it is fun to line up to shop, but I don't have any desire to join them!

All in all, I would say that we had a good Thanksgiving. I won't say that I want to travel every year, but doing something different isn't bad once in a while.

Still, I think I'll go home and make my Mama's turkey and dressing for supper one night next week!

more than I can count

2011-11-24T10:12:00.000-06:00

I have been reading many, many posts on blogs and facebook about all the things people are thankful for this year and thinking that I should have been joining in, but I didn't get it done, so here it is, all in one day.

My 30 days of thanksgiving ...

1. Assurance of my salvation
2. Continued forgiveness
3. Ronnie
4. LB, JW, and D
5. My parents
6. Growing up in a loving, Christian home
7. Ronnie's parents
8. His growing up in a loving, Christian home
9. My brothers, sisters in law, nieces and nephews
10. Extended family
11. My wonderful church family that is a true family
12. The blessing of a place to serve
13. The home school group that we are privileged to be part of ... another family for our family!
14. Friends ... old and new ... for me and for my children
15. Ronnie's jobs
16. Ronnie being willing to work more than one job so that I can stay home and educate our kids.
17. The freedom to home school
18. The variety of curricula available ... making it possible for me to customize our school to my children
19. Our home
20. books to read
21. music ... specifically hymns and other "Christian" music
22. modern conveniences
23. the freedom to travel
24. the beauty of nature
25. traditions
26. breaking with tradition occasionally
27. Packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child
28. Volunteering with OCC year round
29. The people I have met through OCC
30. Working in the processing center in Atlanta

So, there is my list ... not really in order and definitely not complete - really just the tip of the iceberg, but at least it is a start!

I heard a preacher on TV this morning saying that "unexpressed gratitude feels like ingratitude." I've not heard it put exactly like that before, but it is true and all too often I am guilty of feeling gratitude, but not expressing it ... shame on me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

are we there yet?

2011-11-22T22:25:00.000-06:00

Our family, including Ronnie's Mom, drove from Jackson to Atlanta today to enjoy a short vacation before Ronnie and I join several others from our church to work in the OCC processing center this weekend. Let me just say that this was an interesting trip!

What I didn't enjoy about the day ...

...leaving later than we had planned
...realizing that I had left a very important item at home and having to turn around to go get it
...the above problem making us another 30 minutes behind in getting off
...torrential rain off and on from Birmingham to Atlanta
...a half-cooked (not to mention half-eaten) chicken sandwich at Arby's
...a daughter panicking because of the weather
...what is normally a 7 hour drive taking somewhere closer to 10 hours
...whiny kids who got tired and started aggravating each other (which, in turn, aggravated the adults!)
...a 6 year old downing a coke and then needing to go to the bathroom at the worst possible moment
...the traffic in Atlanta

the good parts about the day
...getting away for a few days
...the kids' excitement
...only being about 10 miles from home when I realized we would have to go home to get my forgotten item
...the quiet that comes from the kids watching a movie as we drive
...the lovely remnants of the beautiful fall we have enjoyed this year
...hearing the kids laugh together in the back
...getting to our hotel and discovering that it is very nice
...adjoining rooms
...an excellent dinner at Chili's tonight
...free wifi
...kids who have settled down for the night and aren't fighting!

I would be remiss if I didn't say that no matter what happened on the drive over here, I am incredibly thankful that we arrived safely despite the terrible weather and the insane traffic. I do hope that the weather improves for the rest of the week, but even bad weather can't dampen LB's excitement about going to the American Girl store, JW's excitement about spending his 10th birthday on vacation, or mine about working in the processing center this weekend!

OCC 2011 ... in pictures

2011-11-18T16:55:00.001-06:00

National Collection Week is finally here! It has been a good week so far and we still have 3 days to go. I always love the excitement and even the busyness of collection week ... I enjoy the time spent with the people who volunteer with us. In the first few years our church was a relay center, most of the volunteers were from our church, with only a couple of exceptions. Now, we have lots of people who come to help us and I love seeing new people get a feel for the ministry and leave excited about what they have done, knowing that this ministry has eternal significance!

As usual, I have taken tons of pictures this week (and at our church's packing party) but I'll just share a few of my favorites today ... don't miss the last picture, it is my favorite!

Packing party with our home school group

JW and LB teaching their new friend how to fold the boxes

Amy and Poptart packing a box

The busiest table in the room ...
getting the boxes tagged after they are packed

Glenn and Don adding hygeine products

Some of the finished boxes from our church

Trying to get the group together for a picture

one of the first groups of boxes that was
brought to our relay center

Morgan and Caitlin "man-handling" a carton full of shoe boxes

LB and the CLIF guys unloading boxes

JW ... if his arms were just a little longer, he could carry six!

Amy doing the hard task of numbering the filled cartons, while LB looks on.
I sure do appreciate Amy doing that unpleasant job!

We do see some unusual things come through the relay center ...

for instance we got six boxes from one lady, all stuffed to the gills with notes taped to the top.

In case you can't read the writing, it says

boy 4-9 ... contents listed ...

Please don't remove anything ... I know it's full - just tape the ends

list of the contents in the box

One of my favorite things about collection week is seeing all the cartons lined up,

waiting to be moved on to the next location ...

Okay ... now for my favorite picture ...

Brad and Ronnie hamming it up at the church's packing party ...
it is a shame that they didn't have matching ties!

hymns

2011-11-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

Two of my favorite hymns, perfect for a peaceful Sunday.

my kind of school day

2011-11-09T17:18:00.000-06:00

I am all for school days that look like school, but every once in a while it is nice to do something different. Yesterday was that kind of a day.

Our history lesson ... Mississippi Heritage Days at the Agricultural and Forestry Museum:

The group

D manning the gas pump

LB in front of the rose garden

JW refusing to actually look at me ...
with the blacksmith shop in the background

Ronnie and Ira watching the blacksmith make a
horse head bottle opener ...
later Ronnie tried it out to see if it really worked

Civics class ... taking the kids with us to vote:

I wonder if just one more sign would ifluence my vote one way or another??

Science ... gathering leaves for LB's book-it project and later finding out why those leaves change colors in the fall:

LB helping this one along a little bit ... it wasn't quite ready to fall

We finished off the day with a trip to the library to get a book about why leaves change colors ... and in that book we learned why the colors have been so wonderful this fall ... but that is a story for another day ... right now it is time to get ready for church!

critters ... a totally random post

2011-11-04T16:59:00.001-05:00

Fall is my favorite time of the year and November is one of my favorite months ... with Halloween behind us, we can get on with really enjoying fall without my children being afraid every time they walk into a store ... okay, that may be a little extreme, but they really don't like all the ghosts and ghouls hanging around in October. That being said, I am working on a post that is appropriate for this time of year, but this isn't it.

This has been the season for critters.

A few weeks ago I mentioned a salamander in my muffin tin. The truth is, we have caught and released at least four salamanders in the past several months. In the summer they hang out around our front door and eat any bugs attracted to our porch light. Quite frankly, I don't mind them being there ... as long as they were staying outside ... but I am not to fond of them being in my house~especially in my muffin tin!

There should be a picture of the critter in my muffin tin here, but I can't find it :(

The salamanders may not be my favorite critters, but the one I saw at Wal-mart last night is much worse. I had been at the church for a Women on Mission meeting and decided to stop for coffee creamer (which I am not totally sure that I can live without) and to take advantage of being all by myself by looking around for a little while. When I pulled the buggy out of the line, I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. Much to my surprise, I saw the biggest rat I have ever seen scurry behind the garbage can. You will be happy to know that I resisted the urge to scream and ~~calmly~~ quickly entered the store. I debated about telling the greeter about her, ahem, visitor, but I knew that if I was in her shoes, I would want to know what was lurking behind my garbage can! The nice little lady just kept saying Oh my, over and over again. Later, while I was perusing the yarn ... wishing that I could justify buying some that I am sure I could find something to do with ... I heard a man say something along the lines of I think all we can do is lock those doors and make sure he doesn't come inside the store!

I don't know what they ended up deciding to do, but I can tell you this ... I left via the opposite end of the store!

because this one should come first ... even if I am a month late

2011-10-20T15:53:00.000-05:00

A little over a month ago, on September 17th, we celebrated LB's 12th birthday, but I failed to blog about it, so I am doing it today, on D's 6th birthday, before I write about him sometime this week (I hope!!!).

So, we've entered new territory with this girl of ours. In less than ~~one year~~ eleven months, there will be a teen-ager living in our house! But, I am trying not to spend too much time dwelling on such a disturbing thought and I am also not sold on what seems to be the general concensus that if you have a teen, you have to put up with, ahem, shall we say, difficult behavior until those terrible years have passed. I am just not sure that being rude, disrespectful and generally disrupting the rest of the family has to come with the territory.

Anyway, off my soapbox and back to my girl.

It has been a big year. LB is growing into a young woman in every way. She is learning to cook and help out around the house. Most importantly, she is growing in her sensitivity to others. This is important, but it does also make some things harder.

I am proud of the young woman she is becoming, but I ~~probably~~ don't tell her that often enough. I do love the fact that she still loves to play dolls and I think she would still play dress-up if any of her old dress-up clothes still fit :o). She hasn't started asking to wear make up yet and she had the guts (or just didn't know better than) to tell some friends last month that her Mama doesn't want her dressing hot to attract boys. One of the girls then told her that she didn't understand because she is home schooled ... well, maybe that is true, but it certainly isn't a bad thing! This little incident opened the door for a good discussion about her future and the things that her Daddy and I think are important for her to know.

Many times in the last year, my Mama and I have talked about how our little girl has disappeared and been replaced by this preteen girl who is still struggling to figure out who she is and where she is going. It would be a lie for me to say that I don't miss the bubbly motor-mouth of days gone by, but I know that this transformation is necessary. The older she gets, the more I realize the need for me to pray harder and more for her as she navigates waters that seem much muddier for her generation than they were for mine. Still, there can be no doubt that God has a plan for her life and even though I sometimes feel a sadness for the little girl, I can't wait to see where He will lead her.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Complimentary Caramel Pie ... after supper at O'Charley's

The set of Julie books Grandmother and Papa gave LB

Her gently used Nikki and Sprocket (American Girl) doll that her Daddy
and I bought from a family member for LB

JW chose a set of American Girl paper flowers for LB
(are you seeing the theme here?)

D actually went a little different and gave her a set of stamps ... which she
used today to make his birthday card!

some people show goats ...

2011-10-08T21:47:00.001-05:00

Us? We do crafts.

Two years ago, I had no idea that ordinary people could enter their craft items to be judged and displayed at the fair. I have seen the displays before, but never paid a whole lot of attention to them until Marie and Donna started talking about their Keepers group and the items that they would work on as fair entries. Last year we dabbled in the idea of fair entries ~ LB entered 4 items and I entered 2. We decided that we really like doing it, so this year we did a few more ... 13 for LB and 11 for me. JW even entered two items - a glass etching and a painted wooden sailboat - and was surprised with blue ribbons on both. LB received 7 blue ribbons and 6 red ribbons ... and just for the record, she has already spent her prize money at least 10 different ways, but the top of her list is a trip to the American Girl store when we go to Atlanta next month for a short vacation and to work in the OCC processing center. All in all, we were quite pleased with the results of this year's fair and we spent a lot of time looking at the projects displayed and talking about the things we can do for next year.

JW and D worked together to paint the sailboat

LB's small crocheted purse ... I may have helped with this one just a little

The little glass jar in the middle is JW's etching

LB's "hobo" bag ...

she made it with some help from her Grandmother

LB's mosaic picture frame

LB's quilling ... she also painted the picture frame

LB's string art

My very first doily

My tin punch ... I think this could be a pretty good stress reliever

The set of multi-colored coasters in the center is mine ...
the off-white ones to the left of mine were made by my friend Donna

This is my quilling ... and it is my favorite of all my fair entries this year.

Next year I plan to enter more crocheted items ... especially the larger ones like an afghan and a baby blanket. I would also like to do a dresser scarf or table runner in the fine thread category. JW is all excited about entering things next year since he now realizes that there is money involved! We'll just have to wait and see if he can maintain his excitement long enough to actually get things made all next next year.

daybook

2011-10-04T11:55:00.001-05:00

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...

It is an absolutely beautiful day! Fall is in the air and

while it may not be here to stay, I am going to enjoy it while I can.

I am thinking...

about D's birthday coming up and the fact that I still haven't posted about LB's birthday.

I am thankful...

for home schooling friends who remind me what is important.

From the learning rooms...

today we will begin reading about famous explorers as we prepare for Book-It next week.

In the kitchen...

Ronnie brought home about 8 huge bags of frozen onions from work last week (he works for a trucking company and sometimes they get to use things from undeliverable loads) so I think I'll make him some french onion soup for supper tonight and maybe I'll get really energetic and make fresh bread to go with it ... now I just have to decide what to fix for the kiddos who wouldn't touch the soup with a ten-foot pole!

I am wearing...

gray sweats, orange t-shirt

I am creating...

I'm working on a crocheted doll blanket for one of my shoe boxes

and a small afghan for my mom's birthday

I am going...

nowhere today ... Ronnie has my van!

I am wondering...

why some things have to be so complicated!

I am reading...

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

I am hoping...

for many things ... one thing in particular is that LB is happy with the

results from her fair entries. Last year she entered 4 items, this year she had 13.

I am looking forward to...

working the fair booth for Operation Christmas Child this Saturday.

I am hearing...

the boys playing the wii and LB talking about her dog.

Around the house...

we are going to need to find somewhere to display the

completed fair projects we'll be bringing home in a couple of weeks.

I am pondering...

how to handle an uncomfortable situation with the right attitude.

One of my favorite things...

FALL!

A few plans for the rest of the week:

going to see our fair entries displayed on Thursday,

then to the pumpkin patch on Friday, and the fair on Saturday.

Here is picture I am sharing...

Before and after pics of the boys' recent haircuts ...

no offense to any long-haired boys/men out there,
but I have to tell you that I like them better with short hair!

Don't forget to check out other daybooks over at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

legacy

2011-09-28T11:29:00.001-05:00

If you have been reading this little blog of mine for very long, or if you happen to know me in the real world, you probably already know my passion for Operation Christmas Child.* What you may not know is how our church came to be involved in this ministry.

Ken and Mae joined our church in the final weeks of my second pregnancy ... I remember being surprised that they came to the shower the church gave us (which was after the evening service on the day they joined) and I still remember the cute little outfits that they gave us for our first son. Little did I know then how God would use this precious couple in my life. Many things about the years that Ken and Mae were with us stand out ... memories of her sense of humor even through terrible trials and his amazing talent in creating beautiful backdrops for our VBS stages, but it is for her love of Operation Christmas Child that I will always remember Mae and this ministry is her greatest impact on my life.

In 2002, when Mae first suggested we pack shoe boxes, I don't think that very many of us were familiar with Operation Christmas Child. I am not sure that I had even heard of Samaritan's Purse, though I did know who Franklin Graham was. I think I packed one box that year ... our church packed 32 total and we were pretty happy about that. We would continue packing boxes over the next several years and in 2005 we became the only drop-off location in our county. I remember that first year, receiving boxes and packing cartons, mostly in the hallway of our church where we were tripping over each other and laughing and, for me especially, learning more about these ladies I had known for years and yet didn't really know all that well.

Fast forward a few years and we are still a relay center and we now have several church members who are year-round volunteers with Operation Christmas Child. In November we will go back to Atlanta to work in the processing center preparing the shoe boxes to be sent to their final destination, the children! By the way~it is so exciting to know that you are the last person to touch a box before it is placed in the hands of a child.

So now you know that Mae's willingness to encourage us to do something new has greatly impacted our church, but the story doesn't end there ... and this is the part that gets harder to tell. In August of this year, Mae went home to be with Jesus. She will be greatly missed by those of us who worshipped and served with her, but the legacy of her mission work still goes on. While preaching Mae's funeral, our pastor shared about her work with Operation Christmas Child and how this ministry has touched hearts in our church and how God is using this ministry to reach children all over the world with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and equipping local pastors in the areas that receive boxes to reach children they might never have been able to reach before through the power of a simple gift.

What Bro. Don didn't know as he spoke that morning was that there was a lady in attendance who knew Mae outside of the church. She also knew about Mae's involvement with OCC and after hearing the sermon that morning she was inspired to find out more and to take this ministry back to her own church. They had been involved at one time, but not in the last several years and she felt led to encourage them to pack boxes this year and the ladies of their WMU have agreed to do just that! Wow! Since each box that is packed represents an opportunity to share the gospel with another child and possibly with that child's family, I am always excited to hear about even one more box that someone plans to pack.

I only knew Mae for a few years and I am sure that there are many things about her life that I don't know, but I feel certain that the impact of her love of mission work and her commitment to serving our Lord will continue to be felt in the years to come. I know that I will always be thankful for her impact on my life.

*If you want to know more about Operation Christmas Child, check out their website or ask me or anyone who works with this ministry and we'll be happy to tell you how to get involved.

Sweet, Sweet Spirit

2011-09-25T22:51:00.001-05:00

Today, our church celebrated twenty-five years of ministry. The preparation for this service has been the number one topic at church for weeks. A tremendous amount of planning and work went into the day and now that it is over I can say, without any reservation, that it was all worth it ... at least it was for me.

The church was filled to overflowing, our normal crowd of 60 or 70 swelled to well over 125 and I kid you not when I tell you that we had standing room only. I wasn't prepared for what happened when we stood at the beginning of the service to sing Holy Ground. I was filled with a rush of emotion that immediately brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. That same feeling would come again and again throughout the service. I was moved by the emotion evident in each person who had a part in the service. A short history of the church was given by the widow of the first pastor. The former music minister spoke about his days serving the church and sang The Longer I Serve Him. When our pastor spoke about his nearly twenty years at the church, it brought tears to my eyes again, especially as he thanked his sweet wife for her support of his ministry.

Surprisingly, I listened with new ears to what is now a familiar story to me. I was there when the church celebrated 15 and 20 years of ministry, I remember hearing much of this same history and I enjoyed being part of those days, but they didn't have the same affect on me that today's service did and I have been trying to figure out why.

Somewhere deep inside me I am trying to articulate an answer to that question and I am finding it to be a difficult task, but I can say that it has to do with the love that God has given me both for the group of people who make up this church and for the ministry they have been so faithful in building. The struggles of those who have been part of the history of Crossview, who were willing to persevere in what they believed God was calling them to do, have laid a foundation that we are still building on today.

I think what I am beginning to realize is that this means more to me today than it did five or ten years ago, because these people have come to mean more to me over the years and their lives have become inextricably intertwined with my life and with my family. No matter where God leads our family in the future, this fellowship of believers will always be a part of who we are.

I can close my eyes and look back across that congregation today and memories come rushing in as I see the ladies who rocked my babies in the nursery and showed them the love of Jesus before they could even crawl, and the youth that were the reason we were called to the church in the first place~now all grown-up and married, some with children of their own, not to mention the ladies that I have come to love and respect as we have prayed together on Wednesday nights, and the men who provide the leadership needed to keep us moving in the right direction. The truth is that no matter how hard I try to capture in words what is in my heart, I will never succeed in doing it justice. The attempt brings to mind one of my favorite lines from the movie Skylark "...sometimes, words aren't good enough."

The service today was concluded with a wonderful sermon, delivered by a former pastor who challenged us to not only remember the things that God has done, but to look to the future for what He is calling us to do. What a fitting challenge for a day that could have been too wrapped up in the past. As our pastor said at the conclusion of his testimony today, what has been accomplished at this church isn't because of what we've done, it is because we serve a great God and He has done great things. Amen, Brother, amen.

a box filled with hope

2011-09-09T18:27:00.001-05:00

Livia Satterfield

In 1999, this young lady was a twelve year old girl living in an orphanage in Romania. Her mother had placed her there hoping to give her a better life. Last night, I had the wonderful privilege of hearing Livia tell her side of the story at a gathering at our church beginning the countdown to the 2011 collection season for Operation Christmas Child.

Livia's story is a powerful one. It is a story that is hard for me to grasp here in my comfortable home with well-fed kids who, along with their parents, have never known anything but abundance.  Livia told us that there were days when they had an abundance of food and the children were given bread stacked with butter, so much butter that to this day she can't stand bread and butter. Then there were the days when food was scarce and they were given hard, moldy bread ... her words: "we just had to try and eat it, gulp it down, because that was all there was."

But, as Livia's story unfolded, we learned that while the food supply might have fluctuated, one thing was always the same ... the lack of love. There was no one to comfort them when they had bad dreams, no one to touch them or hug them, no one to tell them that everything would be okay.

Until one day when the children found out that some people from America were coming to visit them. I could share the story Livia told us last night, but she tells it much better ...

A box filled with hope ...
Livia reminded us more than once that to those children in her orphanage these boxes represent hope. Hope and, perhaps for the first time in their lives, an expression of love.

We all know how important it is to have hope and to know that you are loved and I for one know that I have never truly experienced a lack of either one.

I cannot imagine what it must be like to desperately want something as simple as hair clips of your own and know that you have no hope of ever receiving them.   Yet, God used a simple shoe box gift to not only give her the hair clips she wanted but also to show her His love for her.

Livia described packing a shoe box like filling a box with sunshine to light the world of a child somewhere in darkness ... how amazing is it to have the opportunity to be a part of something so simple, yet so special, so potentially life-changing for a child.

Livia's story has a beautiful, full-circle ending since she was adopted by the woman who gave her the shoe box and now volunteers with Operation Christmas Child. But, even for those children whose outward circumstances don't change, they still receive the message that there is someone, somewhere who loves them enough to fill a shoe box with gifts for them. And much, much more importantly, they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and that is the ultimate reason that we keep packing shoe boxes year after year.

One more thing Livia told us that really stuck with me ... how easy it is to pack a shoe box. We hear so many stories about the kids who get exactly what they want or need and that might add extra pressure, thinking that we have to put in just the right thing so that the child receiveing our box will be happy.  Yet Livia told us about a boy in Costa Rica who received mittens, a scarf, and a hat and how excited he was to put them all on, even if they did make him sweat. The key is not stressing over what you put in the box, and instead taking the time to fill the box with prayer. According to Livia, the two most important items to fill the box with are prayer and a personal note with a picture. Not hard at all, is it?

Here are a few more pictures of our Countdown event ... only 66 more days until National Collection Week!

Jamie Hardenbrook - Regional Director of the Southeast region in Atlanta, GA

Most of the OCC people and year-round volunteers that were there last night

Frances Fair - the Area Team Coordinator for Jackson

Livia and me

I've got a bit of catching up to do

2011-08-30T10:28:00.000-05:00

It seems like it has been forever since I have blogged on a regular basis ... probably because it is true. The reason has nothing to do with my love for blogging, it is a time issue. I just can't seem to find the time to write the kinds of posts I want to write, so I don't write at all. But, for today, I'm claiming a few minutes for myself, letting the kids sleep in a little later than is now normal for us, and enjoying a cup of coffee while I try to catch up a bit.

School is in full swing around here and going pretty well. I still haven't found exactly what I want to use for language arts this year, so I am just winging it until I do a little more research (and until Ronnie's new job is official and money isn't as tight). For now we are focusing on history, science, math, and spelling. We are also increasing our read-alouds, so I am not too worried as of yet. We have plenty to keep us busy.

LB is in 6th grade this year ... there, I said it. I've been in denial about having a 6th grader, but I have to come to terms with it! Our focus this year for her is getting her caught up in math. She struggled in math when she was younger and I made the decision to go back and make sure she got a better foundation before moving on. I still believe that it was the right decision, but she is very sensitive to the fact that she is not back to where she would have been if we hadn't changed (and is not doing the same work as her friends). It is hard for her to understand, but having struggled all the way through highschool and college myself because of a weak foundation in math, I am much more concerned about her academic success, but I know it is rough to be teased about something completely out of your hands. On a high note, she has finally decided that she loves to read and is reading all the time now. We are exploring different genres of literature (historical fiction, biography, mystery) and so far historical fiction seems to be her favorite. Like mother, like daughter! I am hoping to use her new-found love of reading to ~~push~~ very gently lead her into writing more, but we shall see.

JW is in 4th grade this year and moving right along. He is doing fine in school, but he is also the only one of my kids who asks, on a regular basis, why do we homeschool? He also asks if he can go to public school and I have to explain to him (again and again) why we made the decision to homeschool* and why we will stick by that decision. I can't say that he fully understands, but one day he will (at least that is my prayer) and then maybe he'll come to know that this is not some strange lifestyle chosen simply to torture him. One thing that has been bothering me about JW is that his normally sensitive nature seems to be at war with a desire to appear tough. My kids have never really had to deal with a bully so we've never even talked about their existence. It upsets me to see some of those characteristics coming out in him, especially when it is almost always directed toward his own siblings, though I have recently seen it aimed at a younger girl at church who didn't want to play a game the way the other kids always play it. I don't want to give the impression that he is going around demanding little kids give up their milk money. For the most part, he is still his normal easy-going self with most people (outside of our house, anyway), but this is a new twist and we want to help him navigate through this little identity crisis safely. As for this year in school, my main goal is to help him gain confidence in his own abilities to read and write. It may just be that a boost in confidence may be the answer to the other problems we are having, too.

D is now in school for real, which still only amounts to a couple of hours a day. If he were in normal school, he would be in 5 year old kindergarten this year. I started doing kindergarten work with him last spring, but then things kind of fell apart when Mama was in the hospital and had to have surgery and we really didn't get very far with him. So, I just picked up this year where I left off with his kindergarten materials and let me tell you, he is bored! I think we are going to combine his basic phonics with a first grade math program and see if that keeps him busy enough. He is still learning that school is not something that he can just say, okay I am done for the day and have that fly. I love teaching this age, though and seeing the light come on as he learns to sound out words and begins doing math. Back when I thought I was going to be a teacher, I never thought I wanted to teach young children and in truth I probably don't have the patience or the personality for it, but I do find few things more thrilling than seeing a child learn to read. I am looking forward to a good year with D, but I won't know until we get to the end if I will be promoting him to 1st or 2nd grade.

*Ronnie and I made the decision to homeschool before we were even married. I was a secondary education major at Delta State and it became clear to me that this was not what God wanted for my life. Most of the classes seemed to be more directed at saving students from their parents rather than teaching me how to teach them literature and writing. When I chose to change my focus just be an English major without the education part, Ronnie and I began to talk about education options for the children we hoped to have one day and even then we agreed that homeschooling was the best choice. We believed then, and still believe now, that this is the life that God has ordained for our family. Those of you who homeschool know that this isn't just an educational choice, it is a lifestyle and no part of your life is untouched by this decision. It would be a lie for me to tell you that I don't have days when I wish I could oblige my son and just let him go to real school (his words), I have no doubt that it would be easier for us both in some respects, but it just isn't an option if we want to be obedient to the call God has placed on our lives.

I didn't really intend this post to be only about school, but since I must get the kids up and going if we are going to get anything accomplished today and since I am now almost finished with my 2nd cup of coffee, I think it is time for me to get on with my day. So talking about our fair projects, the salamander in my muffin tin, and the plans for our relay center's 2011 countdown to collection week (for Operation Christmas Child) will have to wait for another day, except for me to say that I am so very excited about our speaker for the event!

daybook

2011-08-10T15:47:00.000-05:00

FOR TODAY:

August 10, 2011

Outside my window...

the sun is shining and I am sure that it is

already hot, though I haven't ventured out yet.

I am thinking...

about having to take Ronnie to work this morning.

I know that I have nothing to complain about,

but I would be lying if I said that I like only having one vehicle right now.

I am thankful...

for a fairly smooth start to a new school year.

From the learning rooms...

today is Book-It! ... our monthly book report day with one of our homeschool groups.

This is the first activity we participated in when we joined this group when LB was in Kindergarten and it is still one of the kids' favorite activities ... not so much because they love books or book reports, but because they enjoy the time with their friends and getting to eat at Mazzio's (pizza) for lunch!

From the kitchen...

I won't really know until I go to the grocery store. I'm thinking that something simple is in order for tonight since we'll be gone all morning and into the early afternoon and we have church tonight.

I am wearing...

my favorite jeans and the t-shirt Ronnie brought me from Alaska.

I am creating...

not much right now ... but I always have some crochet project going.

I did get to go to JoAnn's for the first time this weekend (in Tupelo) and I bought a skein of scented yarn which I am making into a dishrag. It may sound a little strange, but it is kind of fun to work with. The color name (and presumably the scent) is Aloe Vera.

I am going...

to Book-It this morning and then probably a trip to Sam's this afternoon
and prayer meeting tonight.

I am wondering...

how my visit to my Mama's Sunday School class party will go tomorrow night.

I am STILL reading...

Around the World in 80 Days with all the kids

and Little Women with just LB

I am hoping...

to find the right schedule to get our school days moving a little more smoothly.

I am looking forward to...

chatting with the other mom's at Book-It today.

I am hearing...

JW practicing his Book-It report, LB supposedly getting dressed in her bedroom, Hogan's Heroes on the TV up front.

Around the house...

LAUNDRY! It is overtaking the house!!

I am pondering...
an article I just read about professing "evangelical Christian" scholars who do not believe in the literal account in Genesis and see the Bible as only allegory. Frightening.

One of my favorite things...

completing a crochet project, even if it is just a dishrag!

A few plans for the rest of the week:

we have the kick-off for both of our home school groups this weekend ...

it is going to be busy, but it should be fun, too.

Here is a picture I am sharing...

the kids with Ronnie's Aunt Lera at her house on Sunday.

Please take a moment to visit Peggy over at The Simple Woman's Daybook

to find other daybooks to read or to learn how to create your own daybook.

10 hours and 2 restaurants later . . .

2011-08-03T15:34:00.003-05:00

. . . we were still talking.

The setting?

For the first time in probably ten years, three old friends ~friends since elementary school~ left all nine of our kids to spend the afternoon with their grandmothers, while we sat in a booth in the corner of Corner Bakery, where no one seemed to care ~though they did notice~ that we stayed for SIX HOURS talking and laughing and reminiscing about the good old days.

When we just couldn't wait any longer to eat again, but weren't ready to end the fun, we moved across the parking lot to the Mexican place to continue the conversation. As the nice lady tried to seat us at a table in the middle of the dining room, Stacey politely told her that wouldn't do and asked if they had anything in a corner somewhere. So they put us, quite literally, in the back corner of the place where we kept talking until almost time for them to close. We left there and spent another hour in Stacey's vehicle ... no one really wanting to be the one to say, okay, we've got to go!! The truth is that we could have sat there another 10 hours and probably not run out of things to talk about.

We talked about everything from having babies to things that happened to us in school to where other friends are now. We talked about our parents and our kids and our churches and maybe even a little politics and the list goes on and on ...

So, what makes these ladies so special in my life? They were my closest friends in the days when I was still learning how to be a friend. They were the first people outside of my family that I could count on to be there for me. I don't think that it would be stretching the truth to say that a part of our friendship still finds its way into my relationships, and I am thankful for the lessons learned way back then about how to be a friend, and maybe even some about how NOT to be a friend!

Sadly, the only picture of the event is of the fajita fixin's at the mexican restaurant. They were quite good, but still not exactly blog worthy!

As a blogger, I should be ashamed of myself, especially since I had my camera in my purse!!!

Girls, just so you know ... I cherish our friendship and I hope we won't wait another ten years to repeat this wonderful day ... maybe next time we should really make it all day and start with breakfast!

daybook ... I haven't done this in awhile

2011-07-26T11:39:00.002-05:00

FOR TODAY:

July 26, 2011

Outside my window...

It is gray and cloudy, not to mention HOT and humid

I am thinking...

that today is my oldest brother's birthday

I am thankful...

to have Ronnie home from Alaska and the family back together

From the learning rooms...

we are easing back into a full school routine ... today we will work on our science notebooks (we just started Apologia Zoology 1 ~ Flying Creatures of the 5th Day) and continue with math lessons and reading Around the World in 80 Days

In the kitchen...

I need to clean out the refrigerator ... if there is anything edible we may have leftovers for supper tonight ... if not, well then we'll just have to wait and see what mood strikes me today.

I am wearing...

black shorts and an old t-shirt of Ronnie's

I am creating...

lists of what I need to buy for school this year ... fortunately it is a pretty short list :o)

On the crafty side, I have a decoupage project that I want to find time to work on ... covering a wooden tissue box. Not to mention that I am trying to finish a crocheted bag for Mama to use as a Bible case.

I am going...

nowhere this morning since Ronnie is using the van ... hopefully his truck will be fixed today and we will return to a 2 car family.

I am wondering...

if Ronnie is going to keep the beard he came home from Alaska sporting

I am reading...

Around the World in 80 Days with all the kids

and Little Women with just LB

I am hoping...

to find time to take the kids to the library

I am looking forward to...

a mom's only meeting of our homeschool group's leadership

I am hearing...

the kids playing fairly quietly in their rooms, waiting on me to get started with school

Around the house...

While Ronnie was in Alaska, I started working on cleaning out the clutter in our bedroom ... I would really like to finish this project in the next few days, but all the normal chores still have to be done, so we'll see if I get to it.

I am pondering...

the power of words and how they are used

One of my favorite things...

mowing the yard

A few plans for the rest of the week:

just normal, everyday life ... ain't it grand!

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

flowers in Alaska

Please take a moment to visit Peggy over at The Simple Woman's Daybook to find other daybooks to read or to learn how to create your own daybook.

things i've learned this week

2011-07-23T23:51:00.000-05:00

I cannot, in all honesty, say that this week without Ronnie has been a stress-free week, but I do think that I can say that I have learned a few things about myself.

First, I have learned that I can do things that I didn't think I could do. Case in point, I can use Ronnie's new plunger that isn't shaped the same as the one I was used to ... up to now, I have been unable to make the thing work, but I just couldn't see calling my Daddy to come fix my problem, so I did it myself!

Second, I have learned that, while it is very hard for me to make myself go to bed at night (or in the early morning hours) when Ronnie isn't here, I actually like sleeping sprawled out over the bed. I can't tell you if I like sleeping alone or not since Daniel slept with me at least part of every night, he just doesn't take up too much of my space!

Third, I have learned that Ronnie's more relaxed, laid back nature is a good balance to my not so laid back nature. I tend to get very intense about things (okay, I know some of you already knew that!) and Ronnie is the one who keeps me from running off half-cocked most of the time. He also balances out my parenting, which brings me to the next point.

Fourth, I have learned how incredibly thankful I am not to be a single parent or the wife of someone who travels on a regular basis. I know that God provides the grace and strength we need for any situation, but I can't help but thank Him that this is not my "normal" situation.

Fifth, and finally, I have learned how much I take for granted all the little things that Ronnie does around the house, not to mention how much I take for granted our daily conversations. And, honestly, it is the conversations I have missed the most. I will be so happy to have a conversation with him that doesn't involve a cell phone!

For now, it is less than twelve hours from when we are supposed to pick Ronnie up from the airport and I think I can hold it together until then ... if I can just get these crazy kids to go to sleep!!!

could i get a do-over, please?

2011-07-21T00:34:00.000-05:00

When I was in college, my Daddy went to Montana for about ten days with HIS mother, leaving Mama at home. When I came home that weekend, Mama wanted us to do some things together, but I wanted to get together with my friends.

Good grief, what was I thinking?

On Friday night, I did exactly what I wanted. My good friend and I went out together. Of course, I don't have any idea what we did, though I think it involved a high school football game. I do remember that around 11 o' clock we ended up in the church parking lot with a bunch of our friends and played a game of Nerf football. One of the people there with us was my brother, who, at the time was a patrolman for the police department. When it came time for me to be home (even in college I had a midnight curfew when I was at home) he had the dispatcher call Mama and tell her where I was and that I would be home soon.

Needless to say, this really didn't go over well with Mama, but I wasn't exactly a teenager, so she couldn't punish me in the traditional sense. She did let me know that she wasn't pleased with what I had done. I can't remember exactly what was said, but I do remember feeling very small.

Fast forward nearly 20 years and that weekend still comes to my mind any time I think of things that I wish I could do-over. It is particularly on my mind this week when my husband is in Alaska and (much like Mama in the time before everyone on the planet had a cell phone) I haven't been able to talk to him hardly at all and despite all of the people I have to talk to, I still feel lonely.

I can't help but wonder how much it hurt her for me to be so selfish and insensitive to her feelings.

The bad thing about that do-over list? It keeps growing and so many of the things on that list are there because I put my needs above the needs of someone else.

Good grief, shouldn't I have learned something in the last 20 years ... shouldn't I be farther along the path to maturity?

Don't answer that, I don't think I really want to know.

commenting

2011-07-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

If you have had trouble commenting on my blog ~ which I know some have and I have had trouble on other blogs ~ please try again. I read somewhere that using a pop out box for comments eliminates the problem, so I have changed my comment form to see if it works for me. I hope this helps!

keeping up with the guys in Alaska

2011-07-17T13:48:00.000-05:00

Ronnie and Brad made it to Kotzebue late last night (our time anyway) and so far my only conversation with him was something like the can you hear me now commercials. All I was able to find out last night was that they had made it safely, but Ronnie's bag hadn't ... thankfully, they did know where the bag was and that it was on its way, just a few flights behind!

Anyway, since I have very little information to share, I am going to link you over to my friend Amy's blog where her hubby (Ronnie's traveling companion) Brad will be guest blogging from Kotzebue. I would be happy to let Ronnie do the same here, but I doubt that I could talk him into it ... we'll see, but for now, head on over to Life Sentences and see what they are up to.

on their way

2011-07-16T15:24:00.000-05:00

The kids are finally all awake ... again.

It is only 2:00 in the afternoon here, but it has already been a full day for us. This morning, we left home just before 4:30 to take Ronnie to the airport to begin his long awaited trip to Alaska. Ironically, it was almost exactly a year to the day from when he found out about this trip to today when he and Brad set out for their all-day flight that will end inside the Arctic Circle in the city of Kotzebue.

I'm excited for him to get this opportunity, though I must admit to a little jealousy since he's getting to do the fun stuff and I am here with the kids who are already missing their Daddy. I know that he and Brad will have a wonderful week, even if they don't know yet exactly what they will be doing. They do know that they are flying into the Land of the Midnight Sun ... right now in Kotzebue they have about 23 hours of daylight every day. One of the kids at church asked Ronnie when (and how) they would sleep if it doesn't get dark, but he doesn't know Ronnie well enough to know that it really won't bother him ... he can sleep anywhere!

For us, I just plan to try to keep the kids busy. We never really quit school work this summer and Monday I plan to pick up the pace even more by adding our new read aloud and science to the math and history we have already been doing. I am looking forward to beginning Around the World in 80 Days with the kids. I read it for the first time last summer and loved it, besides, a book about travel seems appropriate, don't you think?

I'd like to say that he will be keeping us up to date with all that they are doing, but we just don't know what kind of cell phone service he will have there and he didn't take the laptop. His last text said that they were boarding the plane for the flight from Seattle to Anchorage ... one step closer to the final destination.

a long time coming

2011-07-04T11:01:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, Ronnie's boss announced her retirement at the end of this year. While this came as a shock to the upper management in their company, Ronnie and I have known that it was coming, though we had no idea when she would actually make the announcement. Keep in mind, Ronnie works in a two person department, just him and his boss and you can imagine that his desire (and hers, just for the record) was to step into her position as manager. He has worked under her for all of the nearly 12 years that he has been with the company and we joke that they are like an old married couple ... finishing each other's sentences or working in silence while each knows exactly what the other one needs to complete their task.

Thus began the tedious waiting game. Ronnie had his first interview for the job the day we left to go to his mom's for the big birthday celebration. I had visions (better known as wishful thinking) of them telling him that the interview process was just a formality and of course the job would be his ... after all, he is the only other person in the company that actually knows what all they do. But, of course, we had to sweat it out through the decision to move the department under a different VP, which led to another round of interviews. Interestingly, they kept telling Ronnie that his only drawback is his lack of management experience, which begs the question of how you can get management experience until someone takes that chance on your ability to learn.

Just so you know, the last couple of weeks have been tense ones around here. It is the not knowing that gets to me. Knowing that she is retiring, but not knowing if her bosses would allow him the opportunity to be the boss. Not to mention knowing how incredibly hard it would be for him to help train someone to be his boss and not knowing if he would even want to stay with the company if that happened. Trying to trust God and be patient.

I am sure that there are lots of life lessons that I could share here, but I am going to skip that today and just tell you how proud I am to announce that my husband is (or will be soon) the new manager of his department. He has worked so hard for this company, with very little reward (other than a regular paycheck ~ which is nothing to make light of in this day and age) and it is nice to finally see him get what he deserves. I am sure that the other candidates are as frustrated as we are elated, and we sympathize because we have been there, but this is Ronnie's time to celebrate and we are doing just that!

Congratulations, Ronnie!

ninety five ... oh my!

2011-06-23T15:25:00.001-05:00

We spent last weekend in Gulfport celebrating Ronnie's Grandmother's 95th birthday. We had a great weekend with the family, especially since almost everyone was there (except two great-grandkids - Ashlee and Eva and one grandchild - Allison).

Five generations

MeeMee finally got to meet her first great-grandson ... Wyatt

MeeMee and all the grandchildren and great grandchildren who could be there

While the focus of the day was supposed to be MeeMee, I think little Wyatt may have stolen the show ....

Granny lovin' on Wyatt

Wyatt and his Nana

Trying to decide what to give someone who is turning 95 is a little difficult. When Granny was here last we talked about it and I decided to make her a small afghan. I will have to admit that it took longer than I thought it would, but I was very pleased with the final result.

We spent Sunday afternoon with Ronnie's Uncle Charlie, Aunt Pat and Bianca (their granddaughter) boating, swimming and grilling (actually, Pat grilled while the rest of us played!) My children love going out on Charlie's boat ... they don't get to do this but a couple of times a year and it is always exciting to them. Charlie is a great sport and enjoys letting the kids drive the boat. The boys always look forward to their turn and this time, even LB took a turn ... though she wasn't as excited as the boys were.

MeeMee is the only great-grandparent that my children have left and I am thrilled that they got to celebrate her 95th birthday with her. I hope that this is something they will always remember and that they will know how important it is to take the time to get to know the older people in their lives who have so much to offer and yet are so often overlooked by young people.

celebrating another year together

2011-06-14T12:38:00.000-05:00

Today, Ronnie and I celebrate fourteen years of marriage.

This is the third year that I have blogged about our anniversary and I thought it was time that I shared a few pictures from our wedding day. Unfortunately, my scanner wouldn't work this morning, so the pictures aren't that great since I just took pictures of the pictures. But, you'll still get some idea of what that day looked like for us.

No post about our anniversary would be complete without mentioning that today is also my parents' anniversary ... Happy 47th Mama and Daddy!

prayers

2011-06-07T11:27:00.000-05:00

Today, my heart is heavy.

One of my oldest and dearest friends has just lost her Daddy. I have known Stacey and her family for nearly 30 years and I can only imagine how hard this day is for her. I have many memories of both of her parents and the fun that we had when we were kids hanging out at her house. Despite their pain, I am thankful that Stacey and her family have the assurance that her Daddy's suffering is over and he is at peace with his Lord.

Today is also the day that Marie, one of my newer, but no less dear, friends will be having surgery and then awaiting test results. I know that Marie is trusting God as she and her family walk through today and whatever lies ahead for them.

I am so thankful for the friendships that I have with these two women and I want them to know that they are being lifted up in prayer today and will continue to be prayed for in the days to come.

ladies in hats

2011-06-05T23:51:00.001-05:00

In just a few weeks, we will celebrate the sixth anniversary of my mother being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Perhaps celebrate isn't exactly the right word, or then again, maybe it is. For one thing, she is still with us and there is no doubting that we are celebrating her life. Another thing is that Mama's battle with cancer has given her the opportunity to live out the grace of God in a way that is undeniable and in doing so she has inspired those around her. I don't know that I had truly understood how much of an impact she has had on her friends until she was in the hospital awaiting brain surgery in April. While we waited, I was able to witness the depth of friendship between Mama and her closest friends, many of whom are in the Sunday School class she has taught for just over 20 years. I was moved nearly to tears on more than one occasion as I saw and heard one of Mama's friends kneel and pray for her. I have always felt blessed by the relationship I have with Mama, but in those few days in the hospital, I became even more aware of how God is blessing others through her. What an amazing legacy.

Today, in a show of support for Mama, her Sunday School class decided that they would all wear hats to church. In the past, Mama has pretty much always worn a wig when she lost her hair. But since having surgery, she hasn't wanted to wear the wig anymore and decided that hats were a better solution. So, she bought some and I crocheted a couple for her and she has worn them most everywhere she goes. The ladies thought it would be fun to wear hats and all sit together in church in honor of her. What began as only her class grew into what I would guess was thirty or forty women in church this morning, all proudly wearing their hats. When Mama told me what was going to be happening, LB and I decided to join in the fun. I originally planned to wear one of Mama's hats, but ended up buying a new one~which gave me an excuse to buy a new shirt, too ;o) ~and I crocheted a hat to match the outfit LB was wearing. LB's hat just happened to also match Mama's hat, except where LB's is yellow with white trim, Mama's is white with yellow trim.

Again, I am amazed at the outpouring of love for Mama. There is no question that she has been an influence on many of the people she goes to church with and I think today she was encouraged by their love and support. And even though I know God's timing is always perfect, I am also encouraged by the fact that this happened just as Mama is again facing decisions about how to proceed with the treatment of her cancer. It wasn't a coincidence that the ladies picked today to wear their hats and I am so thankful to know the One who orchestrated this day and allowed me to be a part of it.

Mama with two of her three grand daughters

Some of Mama's Sunday School ladies

more of the SS ladies

Mama with her family (the two ladies on the end are my sisters-in-law)

dance on demand

2011-06-04T18:57:00.000-05:00

LB's sixth dance recital was last weekend. I can't believe how much she has grown up since we started in this whole dance thing when she was only 5. I think she still loves it as much as she ever did and each year I can see progress in her and in her class at their dance recital.

This year she danced a duet with another home schooled girl in her class. They chose a lyrical ballet to the song You Are My All in All. They did a beautiful job and looked really well matched for dancing together. The night of the recital they were already talking about doing another duet next year. As much as I like the fact that they chose a worship song to dance to, I hope that they will do a tap number next year.

This year's recital was a little unusual because Mrs. Gerry, LB's dance teacher had an appendectomy just two days before the recital and wasn't able to attend. Her husband, Mr. August, was the emcee as usual, but you could tell that the girls were thrown off balance by Mrs. Gerry not being there. Mr. August told the crowd that this was the first recital she had missed in 58 years of teaching dance ... wow!

LB and Desi waiting to dance their duet
(and me showing off the bun cover I made)

Pretty girls

The class costume

my favorite picture of LB

she loves getting flowers every year

her Daddy chose these flowers especially to match her dress

wreckers and regulators

2011-06-04T18:03:00.001-05:00

Baseball this year was one of firsts for both boys. It was D's first year playing team sports of any kind and JW moved up to kid-pitch baseball. Kid-pitch has all kinds of new rules for the boys to learn and JW was one of only two or three who hadn't played in this league before. Two things that we assumed JW knew about were walks and getting hit by a pitch. He caught on to the walks pretty quickly, but was totally surprised by getting to "take his base" after he got hit by a pitch for the first time.

I think they both had a good year and now that it is all over, I think I will miss it, at least a little. I can't say that I really enjoyed having to be at the ball fields 4 nights a week, but I love watching my boys play!

One kind of nice thing about this years' teams was that there were several pairs of siblings on the boys' teams. I enjoyed getting to know the parents and the kids became friends hanging out while their brothers were playing ball. D quickly became attached to a little girl on his team named Alyssa. Her older brother was on JW's team and she even has an older sister that LB became good friends with. All these new friendships made things much easier for me since the kids weren't complaining about being bored when they weren't the ones playing.

The main point of this post was just to share some of their pictures from the year, so here they are:

JW ~ getting ready for his first game with the Regulators

D's first game with the Wreckers

just waiting to play

waiting on their turn to bat

the kids loved this aftergame ritual

I just LOVE this face!

sometimes I would need something to keep my hands busy!

listening to Coach Danny

leading off of first ... he got pretty good listening to his coaches and stealing bases

D preferred hitting the ball off of the tee rather than pitched by the coach

trying to steal home

JW and Mason at their end of the year party

D and Alyssa at their end of the year party

what I've been doing in my "spare" time

2011-04-28T14:24:00.000-05:00

I am working on a post to update all that has been going on with Mama the last month, but for right now I'll just say that she is doing great and I am thankful for all the prayers lifted up for her and the rest of our family.

I don't have a lot of time to post today, but I've been inspired by my friend Donna to share some of the crochet projects I have been working on lately. I hadn't crocheted in a while until Mama was in the hospital and I was spending lots of time just hanging around waiting and I needed something to do with my hands. The result was actually only a couple of dish rags done in the hospital, but it re-ignited my desire to do something new. So, with that said I have tried a couple of new dish rag patterns and yesterday I tried my hand at using thread for the first time and made a small doily. Let me just say that I really liked the thread and how quickly this pattern came together ... lots of fun! Now I am going to try to make a bun cover for LB's dance recital coming up in a few weeks. I have found a pattern that I like the looks of, and I am going to try and get the materials this afternoon.

Before I head out to a birthday party and to take JW to pharisee practice (for a musical with our homeschool group), both of which begin at the same time in different cities (oh joy!), followed by a flying trip back home to get D dressed for his t-ball game, I am going to post a few pictures of my projects ...

the doily

dish rags ... these I am sending to Mama's best friend

this is a dish rag as well ... it doesn't look like the pattern exactly,
but I couldn't figure out the last part of the pattern. I am going to have to
consult a more experienced pattern reader to help me.

this is a small heart pillow ... the picture didn't turn out too well, but you get the idea.
it is supposed to be a sachet, but I didn't have any thing scented to add. I still think it is cute.

blessings amid chaos

2011-04-04T12:18:00.001-05:00

Everything is up in the air right now. I have spent the last week at the hospital with Mama waiting for test results and for doctors to remember that patients are actual people and just in general trying to keep it all together. I have been working on (in my head) a blog post about this time, but I just don't have time to type it right now. Some day soon, I hope. For now, everything hinges on the scans done this morning ... if they are clear, she has surgery to remove a brain tumor tomorrow. If the scans aren't clear, well, then we don't know exactly what will be happening, but then again, I am trying not to think about that right now.

Even though this has been one of the hardest weeks I can remember, I can't deny the blessings we have seen this past week and so I will share some of those here.

The knowledge that no matter what happens over the next days/weeks, my mother is in the hands of her loving Father and that He alone is providing the grace and strength we all need to get through whatever lies ahead.

relief from pain

compassionate nurses

nurses who are willing to keep trying until they get answers from the doctors

sweet friends offering to help in any way they can

my mother-in-law just happening to be in town last week and able to keep the kids

an understanding husband who does all he can to make things easier for me to do what I need to do with Mama

working together with my brothers to help our Mama and Daddy

a new doctor who isn't ashamed to say that he is a Christian

doctors who stay in the room long enough for you to ask questions

Mama's good attitude

Mama's sisters and their availability

Mama's friends visiting and getting to see her interact with her friends who are almost as close as family

the peace that passes all human understanding

knowing that so many people are praying for us

in everything ... give thanks

2011-03-14T19:21:00.001-05:00

No exceptions. God didn't tell us to give thanks when we feel thankful. He wants us to give thanks no matter what we feel ... as a matter of fact ~one that we all know, but bears repeating anyway~ it is more important to give thanks when we don't feel thankful. But that isn't the case for me today. Despite the drama in our house, we still had a great weekend. We enjoyed quite a bit of really good family time, not to mention the time spent some time with great friends.

And so, my list continues ...

52. a quiet supper with my husband
53. knowing that the kids are well cared for and enjoying their time
54. going to the funeral home and seeing peace on the faces of the family
55. Dads taking the kids on field trips
56. enjoying breakfast and easy conversation with good friends
57. realizing that we could have talked all day and most likely not run out of topics
58. LB spending the afternoon with a friend and coming home with boosted spirits (thank you, my friend!!!)
59. fresh, honest perspective from my SS class
60. Sunday afternoon naps
61. choir practice
62. two sweet ladies from church who treated our family to supper after choir practice (fortunately for them, the kids were free since it was Sunday)
63. a trip to the library
64. my baby getting a library card and being excited about checking out his first books all by himself!
65. a safe place to ride out today's storm and the kids basically being oblivious to what was happening outside since they were playing with friends
66. Ronnie figuring out how to fix my internet!
67. seeing the beginnings of understanding through a tough situation

how do I teach a lesson I haven't learned yet?

2011-03-13T17:56:00.001-05:00

I needed an instruction manual for this one. One of those step by step troubleshooting guides that tell you exactly what steps to take and what to do next if the first thing doesn't work. But, that isn't the way it works and I have fumbled around in the darkness trying to do it on my own.

But this lesson isn't just mine ... it belongs to an 11 year old girl whose heart was broken by circumstances that none of us could control or explain away. In the midst of my own emotional response to the original problem, I still desperately want for her to come away from her hurt a stronger person. Isn't that what life is all about anyway ... moving forward with grace and dignity even when all we want to do is curl up in a ball and cry or, worse yet, attack the source of our anger.

The difficulty in our current situation is that she has every right ~ within human understanding ~ to be angry and hurt. This isn't a case of a child not getting her way and throwing a fit. I cannot look my child in the eye this time and explain to her that this is all just a misunderstanding. Oh, how I wish I could. Even more, I wish I could fix it for her, but that doesn't appear to be possible.

After all the talk at home, and with a few close friends, and several attempts to pray through the situation, I took it to the people who always help me to gain perspective...and who have absolutely no prior knowledge of what was going on...my Sunday school class. I had no intention of talking to them about this, but our lesson today was from James 3 ... we spent most of the class talking about wisdom.

And that is just what I need ... wisdom to help my child work through this, wisdom to handle my own emotions in such a way that I don't become bitter toward the people involved. Wisdom that I haven't been able to come up with in the last couple of days.

But, as one of the class members pointed out, the answer was just one page back from the verses we were reading today ...

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1:5

There is just one problem. To do this, I must be willing to give up my own anger and my own hurt and help my daughter to do the same. No matter how justified it feels right now, it isn't from God and it isn't what He wants for our lives. And, just to confirm what the class was saying to me, the scripture reading for this morning was from Psalm 84, but the man reading concluded with a few verses from Philippians 4 that just felt like a beacon shining on my spirit in answer to my lack of wisdom.

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

God isn't indifferent to the hurt my child is feeling because she is His child first and foremost. He knows that though this thing isn't life threatening, it is shaping her spirit and in this His desire should be my desire, that she walk through this situation and the many others that will arise in her life, knowing one thing ... she is never alone and her one goal should be to reflect His love, no matter what.

Maybe, just maybe, I have access to the instruction manual after all ... I just have to be willing to heed its words of wisdom ...

promises of things to come

2011-03-08T10:10:00.002-06:00

I started this post last week when the weather was beautiful and we were all feeling a little bit of spring fever. Today, the weather is a little more seasonal (rainy and cool) and our moods may not be as bright, but I'm going to forge ahead anyway.

Painted toenails.

Children playing barefoot in the sunshine.

Baseball/t-ball practices.

Plans for a May dance recital.

New Easter music.

Practices for end of the year dramas/musicals.

A Mama struggling almost as much as the kids to stay focused on school work.

There can be no doubt, these are all signs that spring is on the way. I have been loving this little taste of spring that we have been experiencing over the last couple of weeks. As always, spring holds more than just warmer temperatures and trees blooming ... it holds a promise of things to come. Some of the things that we know are coming may not be as welcome as others ... like the 95 degree temps and 100% humidity that our summer is sure to hold ... but this isn't the time to focus on that ;-)

I have been amazed this year (as I almost always am) at the beauty and the suddenness of spring flowers ... especially the flowering trees. This year, the Bradford Pear trees have been stunning in our area. So much so, that even my kids have noticed how beautiful they are and how many of them they see. Our small tree has already dropped most of its blooms and is quickly changing from white to green, but several in our neighborhood are still covered in the lovely white blossoms. Somehow, it just seems to lift my spirit to see the beauty that God has placed in His creation for us to enjoy. Yet, so often, I forget to praise Him for that beauty. I simply take it for granted, as if it were just an accident of nature.

In a continued effort to take nothing for granted, I am continuing to count my blessings . . .

42. trees in bloom everywhere
43. barefoot kids ... even if it is only March
44. dead bushes hauled away and the clean new look to our yard
45. boys enjoying baseball
46. a daughter's desire to dance ... and her choosing a song of worship for her duet
47. friends who pray
48. Sunday School parties
49. Adults willing to laugh at themselves
50. simple conversation
51. the sound of rain falling as I type

blogging is "therapetic"

2011-02-26T00:56:00.002-06:00

It is hard to believe, but I have been blogging for two years! This is my 215th blog post ... not counting all those that I never finished for one reason or another (or the ones I finished, but didn't have the guts to publish). It is funny to me how blogging has changed my perspective on everyday things. I take far more pictures than I ever have before, even if I haven't used any of them on this blog lately. Little things that the kids do and say almost always spark some thought about how I could blog what they are doing. I have noticed that lately I am not as good about posting those little things as I used to be. As much as I enjoy blogging, I just haven't had the time for it lately.

Still, I started blogging as an outlet for writing. I enjoy writing and truly find it therapetic, to borrow a term from Barney Fife. Of course, blogging isn't just about writing my own posts, it is just as much about reading posts on other blogs. I have been amazed to realize how many normal, everyday people blog. One of the unexpected aspects of blogging for me is the fact that I feel like I know the authors of some of the blogs I read simply because of their candor in sharing their lives. I haven't been successful in being that transparent with my blog, not because I want people to think that everything is all sunshine and roses in my life, but because I just can't figure out how to share some things without feeling as though I am giving more information than any of you could possibly want to know about my life.

Blogging has brought unexpected blessings into my life that I never could have imagined. Besides being a creative outlet for me, it has brought me closer to several other homeschooling moms in the area and allowed us to form real friendships. These ladies have become very dear to me and I am thankful for what we share, both in the blogging community and in real life. In a way, I could attribute my place in our new homeschool group simply to this blogging thing ... but that is a story for another day.

If I had to choose what I have learned most from blogging, I think my answer would be simple ... gratitude. As I have spent time reading other blogs, I have learned to recognize the small blessings in my own life. Sometimes that happens because the author is intentionally pointing the reader in that direction, but just as often it comes by seeing the pain and struggle that people face. For the most part, I lead a fairly sheltered life and sometimes I am just stunned by the things that people go through. Not only has this exposure forced me to realize just how blessed I am in the things I have had to deal with, it has helped me to realize that I don't always handle adversity in the way that I should.

When I sit down to blog these days, I am finding myself more and more drawn to sharing something uplifting ... more directly stated, I want to point anyone reading my words to the Savior. I don't have the opportunity to come into contact with many people outside of my little circle, so in a sense, this is my mission field. Of course, most of the people who stop by here on a regular basis are probably already Christians. Still, we all need encouragement from time to time and my goal is to be used to provide that for anyone reading this blog. I have been encouraged more than I can express by some of the blogs I read on a regular basis and I guess I am feeling challenged to pass that encouragement along to the next person.

All in all, I am truly thankful for what this blog has come to symbolize in my life ... a place to share what God is doing in my life and in the the life of my family, not to mention, a place to connect with others in a way that wouldn't have been possible even just a few years ago. I do appreciate those of you who come here and read my ramblings. I am still not sure why you're here, but I sure do hope you keep coming back for the next 215 posts!

prayer needed

2011-02-22T23:59:00.000-06:00

Please pray for Crosby ... he is the 2 week old nephew of my friend, Rie. Crosby will be having heart surgery on Wednesday morning. Please lift him, his family, his doctors, and all involved in his care up to our Father. Thank you.

blessing abound

2011-02-21T20:12:00.001-06:00

This makes about the tenth time I have started this post and I just can't seem to find the right words to express what I am feeling right now. Maybe that is a good thing ... not that I am in a bad mood, just that being thankful is much more useful than the crazy thoughts running around in my head.

31. children playing barefoot in the yard in February
32. windows open letting in the beautiful weather
33. listening to (and trying to learn) our new Easter music ... which included singing with the music and only giving a passing thought to the fact that the windows were open and what my neighbors might think about my singing.
34. the kids working together to clean the living room this morning
35. lentils and rice for supper (one of my favorites!)
36. Ronnie meeting with other Dads in our homeschool group to pray for their families
37. Marie and Gregg opening their home for the men to meet
38. the friendships that I see developing between my husband and the other dads
39. the wonderfully uplifting sermon on Heaven that was shared in our service yesterday morning
40. Ronnie preaching last night ... he only does this once or twice a year and he does a great job, though it makes me incredibly nervous!
41. and finally, since we are supposed to be thankful for everything ... I am thankful for the sink/counter full of dishes that I must go wash RIGHT NOW!

The Longer I Serve Him

2011-02-15T14:59:00.002-06:00

I have been debating whether or not to write this post, but since I've decided to go ahead with it, I do hope that I can do it justice.

He called me Jenny.

No one has ever done that before and I still don't know how he got started doing it, yet somehow I didn't mind it too much coming from this gentle man. Now he is gone and memories are swirling around in my head ... prayers he prayed, snatches of conversations, his ready smile and soft chuckle ... all good memories of a man that will be greatly missed. There are two stories from the years I have known him that seem to keep coming up in my mind that just speak clearly to the life he lived.

_______________________

When Ronnie became the Sunday School director for our church several years ago he decided that we needed to have teachers' meetings on a regular basis. For the first couple of years we had prayer partners among the teachers. The plan was for the partners to be secret until the end of the year, when we would reveal who we'd been praying for all year. I will never forget when Bro. Jimmie told me that I was the one he had been praying for. He told me that he took the card with my name on it and put it on the mirror in his bathroom and prayed for me each day. Every day, for a whole year. I was amazed and I was convicted. I wouldn't be able to look at the person I had been praying for and speak those words to them. Their card had been in my Bible and I prayed for them each time I came across the card, but I knew that I had not been the faithful prayer warrior for my partner that Bro. Jimmie had been for me. As I sit here, typing these words and picturing Bro. Jimmie in my mind, I can hear bits of prayers that I have heard him pray over the last ten and a half years ... prayers for peace and comfort and healing, and I am incredibly thankful to know that he lifted my name up to our Father.

___________________

Just a few weeks ago our choir began working on the song The Longer I Serve Him. When we finished singing through it the first time our choir director had a questioning look on his face as he looked at Bro. Jimmie ... as we had sung the song, he had cried. A few years ago I don't think I would have truly understood the significance of his tears, but I do now. This song meant so much to him because he lived it every day. He could attest to the truth of the words that are only just beginning to take on real meaning to me.

The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

The more that I love Him, more love He bestows.

Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows.

The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

Bro. Jimmie wasn't with us on Sunday morning when the choir sang this song in church. Beginning Sunday evening and for all of eternity, this gentleman, who impacted my life in such a powerful way, is experiencing the reward for a life lived in devoted service to his King. I cannot mourn for him, but I will miss him and I can look forward to seeing him again one day.

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

do you glass?

2011-02-08T14:43:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are like me, you may not even know what "glassing" is ... I didn't until a few months ago. But, if any of you are hunters (or married to a hunter) or if you happen to do any bird watching you may be familiar with the term.

Glassing has to do with the use of binoculars, in this case, mostly for spotting game or maybe birdwatching ... and I don't do it.

But, my brother does. When I was still in high school, Bob spent a summer in Montana working as a hunting guide and as a result he came up with an idea for a new product to make "glassing" easier and less tiring. Bob, and his wife, Stacy, have been working to bring his idea to market and now they have! It is called the Airlite Chestpod and it not only works with binoculars, but also with cameras and camcorders (for those of us who are more likely to attend -and video- a recital or ballgame than go birdwatching)

I think it is pretty cool to have an inventor in the family and would love it if you took a moment to check out their website (linked above) and also their first press release on Bowhunting.net.

stopping to count

2011-01-31T12:11:00.000-06:00

I don't really have time to blog today, but I don't want to miss posting my gratitude list. It is definitely a Monday and I am feeling the need to focus on the positive things right now ...

5th Sundays fellowshipping with friends over a good meal

Sunday afternoon naps, even the ones interrupted by small voices

A Sunday evening spent at home

Watching an "old" (from the year I graduated from high-school) movie with my kids

A good night's sleep

Quiet mornings with coffee and my own thoughts before I wake up the kids

A school week completely planned out (yay!)

D looking forward to his school work every day

Children copying scripture while I count my blessings!

#22-30

I hope you all have a wonderful week, full of blessings to be counted!

who flipped the switch?

2011-01-28T16:59:00.003-06:00

Something amazing has happened in our little family. It means much more to me than to anyone else, mainly because I never thought it would happen.

LB has become a reader.

Okay, of course she's known how to read for years and has never had any trouble reading at grade level. But she was missing that spark, that desire to lose herself in a book and it made me sad.

You see, I didn't read books as a child, I devoured them.
My favorite teacher was the school librarian, Mrs. Puckett.
By the time I was in junior high, when I had read everything else in the house that Mama deemed appropriate, if I had no new library books, I would read my older brothers' school books (okay, I know that is odd, but I promise it is true). I still remember reading I Heard the Owl Call My Name. I don't remember much of the story, but I do remember that it made me feel things that I didn't understand at the time ... hmmm, maybe I should go back and read it again ...

Anyway, back to LB ... I am not sure exactly what happened, but it is like someone flipped a switch in her brain labeled you want to read a book! I took her to the library last Friday while the boys were getting haircuts with their Daddy and she checked out two books, both of which she had read by Monday. Granted, they weren't challenging books, but suddenly something is different and now she wants to read more than a chapter at a time and when it comes time for her to read during school she wants to know how many chapters she can read, rather than how many she has to read.

In case you can't tell, I am very excited about this new development in LB. I can't help it because I know how wonderful it is to be able to just lose yourself in a good book and not even realize what is happening. I am also thinking about books that she and I can read together ... books like Little Women and Anne of Green Gables come to mind.

Now, my husband wants to know where that switch is and if we can turn it on for him ...

shoutin' time ...

2011-01-24T23:44:00.000-06:00

I may have covered this topic on this blog before, but it bears repeating ... I love music. Specifically, I love the music of the Church. I believe that it is one of the best gifts that God has given to the Church. It is only in recent years that I have come to understand the power of music and how we as Christians can and should worship through music. For years, I saw the music part of a worship service more for entertainment than worship. Now, one of my favorite parts of singing in the choir on Sunday mornings is seeing the worship that is in the hearts of the congregation reflected on their faces. I can't explain it and it may sound strange to you, but it lifts my heart and encourages me in ways that I just don't have words to describe.

With all that said, I want to share a song that we are practicing in choir. I don't think I had ever heard this song before a few weeks ago and I know that I had never heard of this group that is singing in the video, but it is a great song and this group is amazing ...

...our choir won't be living up to that performance, but we will worship our Savior when we sing it and really, that is all that matters.

Continuing to count the innumerable blessings ...

The gift of music

Worship, in spirit and in truth

Witnessing the moving of the Holy Spirit

Conviction

Being challenged to move out of my comfort zone, even when my fear is strong

Hymns

Children singing

#15-21

a new favorite quote

2011-01-20T23:59:00.001-06:00

Some books are to be tasted,

others to be swallowed,

and some few to be chewed and digested.

Sir Francis Bacon from his essay Of Studies

hidden treasure

2011-01-15T21:14:00.000-06:00

I only have a few minutes to post tonight, but I've been wanting so share something I came across while looking through old greeting cards for a craft project I am working on (actually, it is almost finished and I can't wait to share pictures when I am done!).

I have a habit of keeping things for very long periods of time and sometimes I find real gems hidden among the things that I probably should have gotten rid of years ago. This is one of those times. I am pretty certain that I know which of the ladies at church shared this in our Wednesday night devotion time, though I am not sure exactly when it was done ... sometime around 2004 or 2005 I would guess since the cards I was looking through came from those years. Anyway, what I found is a small white card with the following printed on it.

When hopelessness, despair, and apparently impossible crises come into our lives, there are three things we can do:

1. Receive and believe in the love an delight of our heavenly Father. 2. Never cease to pour out our hearts before Him, crying to Him.

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry ... But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. Psalm 88:1-2, 13

For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God? God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places....For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me. 2nd Samuel 22:32-34; 40

The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace. Psalm 29:11

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31*

I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, [even] of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Psalm 71:16-17

In the day when I cried thou answered me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul. Psalm 138:3

* This verse isn't on the original list, but I thought it fit.This little card encouraged me the night I found it. I hope it brings you encouragement as well.3. Encourage our souls with His promises daily. (Here are just a few)

1/11/11 ... daybooking again

2011-01-11T22:08:00.000-06:00

For some time I have been wanting to get back to my weekly daybook posts, so today seemed like a good day to start. The fact that there will be four times this year when the date is all ones has stuck out to me and so I'll commerate the 2nd of these dates with my first daybook of the new decade.

Outside my window ...

it is dark and very cold.

I am wearing ...

brown sweats and an old Old Navy t-shirt.

I am hearing ...

LB singing in the shower, probably could be blackmail material for her teen years,

but I won't go there.

I am going ...

to Book-It! tomorrow morning and to take LB to the eye doctor tomorrow afternoon.

I am noticing that ...

I am becoming more and more of a homebody.

I am thinking ...

about some rearranging I want to do in the house.

I am hoping ...

to get in bed earlier tonight than I have been the last few nights.

I am reading ...

the book of James and bits and pieces of

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala.

I am creating ...

a calendar journal ... thank you Rie, for the idea!

I am remembering ...

that I have to teach British Lit again on Friday.

I have enjoyed my break, but I think I'll be glad to get back to it.

I am thankful for ...

the worst of the winter weather missing us this past weekend.

On my mind ...

Mama

Words that I am pondering ...

The work of God can only be carried on by the power of God.

The church is a spiritual organism fighting spiritual battles.

Only spiritual power can make it function as God ordained.

Jim Cymbala from Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

From the learning rooms ...

trying to get back in the swing of things

From the kitchen ...

the mess from supper waiting on me to come clean it up.

Around the house ...

rooms in serious need of purging

A few plans for the rest of the week ...

Book-It and eye doctor tomorrow, church tomorrow night,

monthly homeschool group meeting on Thursday night,

hanging out at home this weekend.

One of my favorite things ...

listening to Ronnie and the kids playing (bowling on the Wii) while I blog.

A picture to share ...

Visit the Simple Woman's Daybook to join in or to find other daybooks to visit.

continuing to count

2011-01-11T01:58:00.003-06:00

I sit in a (very) warm classroom on a cold Sunday morning and glean insights from unexpected places. The group is a mixed one: men and women; married, divorced, widowed ... some old friends and some new. Each one approaches the scriptures open on the table from their own unique point of view.

Verses 9 and 10 of chapter one are the jumping off point ...

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

The discussion moves around a bit and then comes back to faith. But not faith alone ... faith with feet.

My feet are slow, sluggish ... not always willing to move in the direction that my faith seems to be leading. I want to confess my struggles to those in the room with me, yet I hesitate and generalize ... I take the easy way out.

I have not learned to count it all joy* when I am tempted because I fail too often and into the same temptations over and over again. I share this general struggle and the one about money ... they are easy because we have all confessed to them at one time or another.

*James 1:2-4

And then the conversation turns and I realize that I have become so self-absorbed that I have lost sight of the struggles around me and I am ashamed.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Philippians 2:4

But, there is an unexpected blessing hidden in the words that follow...

Where one person sees only pain and fear, others see His Light reflected. One of the new faces in the room describes it in military terms ... the soldier in the midst of the fight cannot see whether he is winning or losing the battle, only the general on the hill can see the big picture and knows where everyone stands.

And this is where the beauty hides ... we are all in the trenches in our own lives, lost in the muck and mire, but we can still see the beauty in the lives around us if we are just willing to take our eyes off our own mess and look.

In this imperfect beauty is where I find my blessings for the week:

My Sunday School class

our teacher or, more appropriately, our facilitator ... the youngest man in the class, yet showing wisdom beyond his years and, more importantly, a teachable spirit
the old friends ... the only other couple in this young adult class when we began several years ago ... they are the ones who know us better than any of the others and the ones we have come to rely on ... the struggles they have walked through have made them stronger and even now they are stretching their faith in new ways
the one who has been through more than most of us can imagine and yet is still faithful, still serving and still growing, even when she cannot see it in her own life
the new faces that we are just getting to know and yet sometimes feel as though we've known for a long time
my husband ... my sounding board after the final amen ... someone has to let me know when I have said too much ...
most of all I am thankful for the community that is being created and the sense of belonging that I have never experienced in this way before

#'s 8-14

community of gratitude

2011-01-04T15:13:00.002-06:00

The coming of each new year seems to bring into focus the need for change in our lives. As 2011 dawned, my thoughts turned, as if on autopilot, to the things that I didn't accomplish during 2010. My first instinct was to berate myself for not having the ~~guts~~ intestinal fortitude (as my Daddy would say) to do what needed to be done. But, while there is a definite need for self examination, I have come to believe that the more productive course of action is to look for forward progression among the items on the list I made last year.

Honesty being a necessity in this process, I must report some that I have moved forward in some of the areas of my life that are most in need of overhaul. But there are a couple of glaring trouble spots in which I am afraid that the only progress may have been in the wrong direction. One of the things most troubling to me is in the matter of contentment. This was the focus of this post that I wrote on New Year's Day last year. Oddly enough, both of the things that I had planned to focus on in the beginning of 2010 are areas that I am not happy with where I was with them at the end of 2010.

It is easy to diagnose the problem with reading through the Bible in one year ... it was simple ~ the readings were too long each day for my kids (especially D) to handle in one chunk each evening. And, reading through the Bible with small children brings up some very interesting questions that I don't think we were prepared to handle with kids as young as ours. We have chosen a different route this year. We are planning to choose a book of the Bible and read through it, a chapter a night, until we finish that book and then choose another. We began with the book of Daniel and are planning to alternate between New Testament and Old Testament books.

There are no simple answers to the issue of contentment. But, I am beginning to see that contentment and faith go hand in hand. Our pastor has claimed 2011 as The year of Faith for our church. Based on Hebrews 11:6, he has asked us to seek to grow in our faith and I am beginning to realize that I must grow in my faith if I am ever going to be content with my life. I continually seek to ~~make~~ force changes that will bring contentment, but that isn't what I am supposed to be doing, is it? Life isn't supposed to be about making myself content, it is supposed to be about following Jesus anywhere He leads and being content on the journey. While thinking and praying about this issue on Monday morning, God led me to this verse and it is the first I plan to memorize this year.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

So, what does any of this have to do with a community of gratitude? For me, as for several of my blogging friends, one way to be content is to practice gratitude for those things ~ tangible and intangible ~ that I already posess. With that in mind, I have decided to join in with Ann @ A Holy Experience as she and many others count the endless blessings God has poured into each of our lives. If you have never visited Ann, let me encourage you to click the link above and prepare to be blessed through her words.

The list begins ...

The awesome sacrifice of my Savior and the gift of salvation provided for me

The beautiful family I have been given ...
A husband who loves me and allows me the freedom to stay at home
Bright, healthy children who are teaching me even as I attempt to teach them
Loving parents who started both Ronnie and me on the road to following Christ
Brothers and sisters-in-law, many nephews and a few neices to gather with and celebrate family

The church family that God has placed us in and has used to teach me what Church is truly supposed to be. I don't have words to express how important this group of people is in my life and in the lives of my children.

New friendships that have been forged and strengthened through the new homeschool group we were part of forming last year.

#1-7

Welcome 2011

2011-01-01T09:51:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

We may not know what this new year holds for each of us,

but we know Who holds this new year and

that changes everything.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work

in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must

believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

a belated birthday party

2010-12-29T17:26:00.000-06:00

JW turned 9 the week of Thanksgiving ... then we left for Atlanta to work in the OCC Processing Center (something I have yet to blog about...) and from Atlanta we drove up to Tennessee for vacation (something else I haven't blogged about...) and when we got back it was December and the mad dash for Christmas had begun. The result of all that busyness is that JW missed having any real birthday celebration, even though he had been promised that he could have a couple of friends sleep over instead of a party. We finally settled on a date and yesterday was it. We made the house a sister-free zone by trading children with Amy ... I got her son, Gogurt, and she got LB to hang out with Poptart. The drama level may have dropped a little with the departure of my girl, but the noise level has risen exponentially. Along with JW and Gogurt we also have another of JW's friends, Bubba (his sister's nickname for him).

The boys have played extraordinarily well with each other. There have been a few times when the three of them each had a different opinion about what to play, but they have been able to work it out themselves, so that has been nice. I only threatened to turn off the Wii once when they were discussing which game to play. Most of the time yesterday they were doing their best to fill my yard and the empty lot across the street with 5,000 airsoft pellets. Later, they held some sort of jumping contest that involved the top bunk of JW's bed. Ronnie finally had to ask them to stop when the pictures on the living room wall started bouncing.

Needless to say, the kids' new Wii has been a top attraction around here, but I did take them to my parents' house this morning where they played fort and shot their airsoft and BB guns and rode down the hill in the wagon and tramped through the woods and whatever else boys can find to do in the great outdoors. I did take some pictures but will have to add those later.

As a side note, I have to share my new favorite fun breakfast. I have to give credit to the kids ... they saw these on a Pillsbury commercial and wanted me to make them for Christmas breakfast, so I did.

Let me just say that they were easy and actually pretty good, so I thought it would be a good breakfast for the boys this morning. In case you are curious, it is just a crescent dinner roll (I used the actual triangle ones for Christmas) unrolled and then layered with ham and cheese and rolled back up and baked. Like I said ... EASY!

Hopefully, JW enjoyed his birthday party because it is about over. Bubba has already gone home and Gogurt will be returned to his family at church tonight, and so, with three days to spare, we are finished with birthdays for 2010 ... only a month and five days late!

a family first

2010-12-22T16:30:00.001-06:00

At the request of our friend Brad, Ronnie took on a two night acting job as the guy in the red suit. Amazingly, he thoroughly enjoyed playing the part and had great fun talking to the kids. He did say that he was amazed by the kids and what they asked for ... things like four-wheelers, cell phones, and other electronic gadgets. Then there was the little girl who only wanted a new dress for her Mom. I am sure that there were many children who fell in the middle of these extremes, but when I asked, Ronnie said that there were so many kids that he really couldn't remember much of what they said.

The people who made the biggest impression on him were the adults ... not the adults bringing kids, but the older teens and adults who wanted to sit on his lap and have their picture made ... too funny! There was even one rather large man who asked if Santa would sit in his lap! I think he was rather surprised when Ronnie agreed ... I hate I wasn't there to see that!

I did take our kids out to see Santa last night and even though they knew it was their Daddy, they didn't want to stand in line to talk to him. We waited until he was done and then I took a picture of them with him ... their first ever picture with Santa!

Our friend, Amy, had some nice things to say about my hubby on her blog today, along with pictures of my Santa with her Poptart and Gogurt. Thanks, Amy, and thanks Brad (Amy's husband) for asking Ronnie to do this ... I really think he had a wonderful time!

While we were waiting on Ronnie to finish up, I took a few pictures of the kids around the other decorations in the park and a nice lady offered to take a picture of all of us.

I have to share that our time last night was a great way to end what had been a really nice day, overall. LB spent the day with her friend H and their family so that she could go to dance class with H for their Christmas party. I have to take just a moment to brag on my little girl who won the dance contest (for remembering the most ballet steps ... she missed 1/2 of one step) for the 2nd year in a row! With LB taken care of, I took the boys to my brother's house since he had volunteered to keep them while I went shopping with Mama and his wife. We ate lunch together and then did a little shopping together before splitting up to make the best use of our time. I don't spend a lot of time shopping all by myself, and I must say that I enjoyed the freedom while I finished up our last minute gifts. I am thrilled to be finished with my shopping and ready to spend my time preparing for our family time this week.

I would like to think that I will find time to blog again before Christmas, but in reality I probably won't, so ....

Merry Christmas!

please pray

2010-12-16T23:57:00.001-06:00

If you have a moment, please read this post written by my friend Amy and lift her family up in prayer.

An Untitled Post

Thank you!

the fun side of things

2010-12-14T13:25:00.003-06:00

Now that I have had my bah humbug post, let me assure you that things are actually quite festive around our house. We have our tree up and decorated and much to the chagrin of my children we are playing my favorite Christmas game of stump the kids. I rarely put names on gifts under the tree and the kids have to wonder and guess which one is theirs. Before Christmas arrives they will have at least one named gift to shake and rattle, but most will be a surprise.

We have also been participating in Christmas activities with our wonderful group of home schooled families. The kids decorated graham cracker houses and we now have a cute little gingerbread village on our hearth.

We were a little later than usual putting up our tree this year since we were out of town when we would have normally done it, but it got done and I had a great time watching the boys help their Daddy get it set up.

D still likes to hang multiple ornaments on the same branch, but he is getting better!

LB and I spent Saturday morning shopping with Mama. Mama got most of what she had left to do done while we were out and I got my niece and nephews finished in one stop, which was wonderful! It was kind of fun to try to hide a couple of things from LB while I shopped. I was able to buy one thing for her and some stocking stuffers for the boys without her knowing it. She is a very sharp little girl and misses very little, so it was a challenge to distract her, but Mama helped and we got it done. We finished up with lunch at Chik-fil-a. The one closest to us has just re-opened after being remodeled. Let me just say that it was absolutely crazy in there, but we enjoyed it anyway.

LB was in the city Christmas parade with her dance class on Saturday afternoon. The weather was threatening to get bad, but thankfully the rain held off until after the parade was over. It was quite cloudy and windy and I had a hard time getting any good pictures. That kind of makes me sad since LB and her friend H got to carry the banner for their group. This is one of LB's favorite Christmas activities and she was thrilled to get to carry the banner. I wish I had a clearer picture of her smiling and waving as she passed us.

JW and me fighting over a Nestle's Crunch bar that was thrown during the parade.
He won, by the way ;-)

Sunday, after church and lunch, LB and I went to Mama's to make fudge for our cookie/candy swap (LB and H decided that it should be renamed the Sweet Swap ... maybe next year) with our Keepers group. The idea was for each girl to choose a recipe that had some meaning to them and besides sharing the goodies, we would also share the recipe and why they had chosen it. The recipe for fudge that we used was originally my Granny's recipe for chocolate cake icing. It was the go to birthday cake for most of us kids growing up and still is a favorite of mine and what JW asked me to make for his birthday last month. As a side note, my oldest brother and I had a great thing going when we were still at home ... I am not a big cake fan and he's not a big icing fan so we had a deal going where he would give me the icing off of his cake and I'd give him the majority of my cake ... worked out pretty good for both of us. Mama also modified the recipe to make wonderful fudge, adding crunchy peanut butter (or just peanuts) and marshmallow creme.

LB's completed haul from the Sweet Swap

Added to these activities we had our Christmas fellowship at church following the choir singing on Sunday night. As usual, we had a wonderful time with our church family. Our pastor's wife gathered the kids around a table and Ronnie told them the Christmas story. It looks like they were having fun with it.

I have one final picture to share with you, just a simple reminder of what it is all about.

trappings

2010-12-13T17:01:00.001-06:00

I admit it. I didn't want December to come this year. I even dreaded the coming of Thanksgiving because I knew that the Thanksgiving turkey would usher in the December gimmies ... and I am not talking about my kids.

No, this problem doesn't lie with my children, it is in me. I find myself fighting a desire for isolation from Black Friday until Christmas.

I don't want to know what I could be giving my kids if only ...

I don't want to think about all the the beautiful decorations that won't be hanging in my house ...

I don't want to feel the pressure to do more and celebrate better and create the perfect holiday for my family.

Don't get me wrong. I know that many, many people celebrate Christmas from pure motives of worship and honor for the birth of Christ. I also know that materialism is rampant year-round in the culture we live in today, it just gets to me more around this time of year. And this year, more than ever before, I have had to force myself to even participate in the trappings of Christmas.

I am not exactly sure what the point of this post is. I suppose I am just feeling the need to vent a little. Nothing will change, Christmas is going to come and go and be celebrated no matter what I feel or do. There are always going to be those around me who do Christmas bigger and better than I do. These are facts that I cannot change. I suppose that the change has to come from within me.

another belated birthday post

2010-12-10T11:17:00.000-06:00

Just over two weeks ago, on November 24th, my oldest son turned 9.
One more year in single digits.

Unfortunately for JW, his birthday always gets caught up in Thanksgiving. This year was even worse. Not only was Thanksgiving the day after his birthday, we were leaving for our vacation the day after Thanksgiving and there just wasn't time to have much of a party. I did make his favorite cake and had a "celebration" of sorts while we got together with Ronnie's family.

Sadly, I took very few pictures of JW on his birthday. Here's the best of what I got.

please ignore the unfolded socks on the couch behind him ;-)

JW has been asking for his own bat (not a hand-me-down) and batting gloves for a while now, but we just couldn't justify the money. BUT, this year when Wal-Mart had all their summer sports stuff on clearance, we got a really good deal on these items and put them up for his birthday. He was thrilled, even if baseball season is still several months away. He is still hoping for a spend-the-night party with a couple of friends, but that may have to wait until school is out for Christmas break ... we'll just have to see!

today, in 1995

2010-11-18T12:55:00.001-06:00

I remember the day very well.

It was a Saturday ... I was 21, he was 28.

I spent most of the day trying to decide what to wear ...
and trying to calm my nerves.

Strangely, I don't really remember the conversation when he asked and I accepted the invitation for a date. But, I know it happened and the rest, as they say, is history.

We had actually met a couple of months earlier, in September, through mutual friends at the Baptist Student Union. Then, at the Mississippi College/Delta State football game, we ran into each other again ... I had been visiting with a friend of a friend on the MC side; he was over showing a little support for his alma mater and when I left, he decided to walk back around to the DSU side with me.

I don't have any idea what we talked about ... my school or his work, maybe ... or maybe we just talked about how the football season was going for the Fighting Okra ... I can't remember. But, our friend (or his girlfriend) saw us talking and decided to give us a little push in the right direction by inviting us both over for lunch at his mom's house after church on Sunday. And before I knew it, I had agreed to go out with him on the following Saturday, just a few days before I would be heading home for Thanksgiving.

On Saturday, he picked me up from my dorm and took me to one of the best restaurants in Cleveland (keep in mind there were only 2 or 3 really nice places to eat ... or 4 if you count both the Mexican place and the Western Sizzlin'). This is Ronnie's favorite part of our first date story ... he took me to a place that specialized in steak and I ordered grilled chicken, because my Mama always told me not to order the most expensive thing on the menu. On top of that, I ordered a baked potato for my side, not realizing that the chicken was served with rice pilaf. In my defense, I grew up in a large family ... we didn't eat out much, there were just too many of us. In other words, I had very little experience ordering from a menu that wasn't printed on the wall ... not that I hadn't done it before, but this night my nerves got the better of me and I ended up feeling a little bit like a doofus.

After dinner, we went to the little movie theater in town and watched the James Bond movie GoldenEye. I have never been a huge movie-goer, but there isn't much to do in Cleveland if there isn't a DSU sporting event to watch ... which is exactly where we would spend a large part of our dates over the next couple of years.

Oddly, I don't remember many of the details of the date. Odd because I have friends who marvel at the details I can remember from our childhood. But, for this one, I couldn't even begin to tell you what we talked about, but I do remember that he was incredibly polite and did all the things that he was supposed to do (but that many guys don't do) like opening my car door ... which he would continue doing for the entire time we dated, and still does when we aren't trying to herd three kids into the ~~car~~ mini-van.

This date would prove to be the beginning of a beautiful thing. Our second date came on the following Tuesday night before I left to go home for Thanksgiving, and by Christmas we were introducing each other to our families. Again, the rest is history, and I am incredibly thankful for that history. In a world where marriage is so fragile, I know how blessed we are to still be together and I hope to never take for granted the gift we have been given.

would you join me?

2010-11-15T10:19:00.003-06:00

It begins today.

The third week of November.

The final week before Thanksgiving

(bringing with it the beginning of the holiday season).

National Collection Week
for Operation Christmas Child

Beginning today, more than 3000 locations around the country will be collecting shoe boxes for the next week. I have no idea how many volunteers that number represents, but I can guess that the number is quite large. Between now and next Monday, these volunteers will have the opportunity to meet thousands of people who have packed a shoebox.

They will meet ladies who have a passion for this ministry and spend months each year planning and preparing shoeboxes. I know two women from another local church who do just that ... they transform a garage into a storage place for shoeboxes and then hunt for any and every way they can fill that garage each year. God is blessing their efforts and each year their church gets more involved and packs more boxes than the year before.

They will also meet children who have packed boxes with their school or their Sunday School class. Children who are excited about what they have done and who want to have the opportunity to tell about their experience.

They will meet families who want their children to know that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Or maybe, they will meet a mother who has packed special needs boxes because she knows first hand exactly what should go into a box for a special needs child.

And, if these volunteers are anything like me, they will be inspired and encouraged by the stories they hear from those they come in contact with this week.

The stories and motives behind each box that will enter our relay center and others just like it across the country this week are as diverse and special as the people who bring in those boxes. And, in truth, the opportunities to share the Gospel through a shoe box begins today, in those relay and collection centers, where we never know who might come in needing to hear about the love of God.

So, would you pray with me this week?

Pray for the thousands of volunteers who will be working this week ... for safety and energy and most of all, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit as we have the opportunity to meet and talk with thousands of people who are being the hands and feet of Jesus and helping to share the Gospel with a lost and dying world.

Pray for a hedge of protection around these volunteers. Our adversary does not like what is being done through this ministry.

The Light of the Gospel is penetrating dark places and hearts that have belonged to him.

Churches are gaining greater unity as they work together in serving the Lord.

Lives are being transformed.

This may sound melodramatic, but I don't think it is overstated.

For where two or three are gathered together in my
name, there am I in the midst of them.

Matthew 18:20

There will be thousands of drop-off locations open this week with their two or three gathered in the name of Jesus and He will be there in each one of those locations and His power will be displayed across this nation.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season
we shall reap, if we faint not.

Galatians 6:9

I believe with all my heart that God is working through the ministry of Operation Christmas Child and Samaritan's Purse and I am so thankful that He has allowed me to be a part of this ministry.

a reason to get involved - updated

2010-11-10T09:11:00.002-06:00

I only have a few minutes before leaving for our monthly book report meeting, but I wanted to share a video about Operation Christmas Child. I could talk for hours about why I am involved in this wonderful ministry, but I think hearing from those impacted by the boxes might be even more effective. Enjoy.

Here is another video that I absolutely love to watch and share. It is the story of Oksana Nelson, told in her own words as she has come full circle from receiving a shoe box in an orphanage in Russia and now works with Operation Christmas Child.